
Class Jl^LSJij- 
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MEMOIRS 



GENERAL ANDREW JACKSON, 



SEVENTH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: 



CONTAINING A FOLL ACCOUNT OP HIS INDIAN CAMPAIGNS, AND DEFENSE OP 

NBW-ORLEANS ; AND NUMEROUS ANECDOTES, ILLUSTRATIVE OF 

HIS character: together WITH HIS VETO OF THE BANK 

bill; PROCLAMATION TO THE NULLIFIBRS ; 

FAEEWELL ADDRESS, &C., &C. 



TO WHICH IS ADDED 

THE EULOGY OF HON. GEO. BANCROFT, 

DELIVERED AT WASHINGTON, D. C. 



C03IPILED BY A CITIZEN OF WESTERN NEW-YORK. 



AUBURN, N. Y.: 
PUBLISHED BY JAMES C. DERCY & CO. 

GE NEVA, N . Y . : 
GEORGE H. DERBY & CO. 

CINCINIVATI : 
H, W, DERBY & CO. 

1845. 



^-i% 



M 



53 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year eighteen 
hundred and forty-five, by 

JAMES C. DERBY & CO., 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States 
for the Northern District of New-York. 



JOHN C. MERRELL Sc Co.'s 
Napier Press, Auburn, N. Y- 



THE HERO SLEEPS 



Go bring his battle-blade, 
His helmet and his plume ; 

And be his trophies laid 
Beside him in the tomb. 

Green be the willow bough 
Above the swelling mound. 

While sleeps the hero now 
In consecrated ground ; 

When files of time-worn veterans come, 

With martial trump and muffled drum. 



PREFACE. 



In the preparation of the following work for the press, the 
compiler has consulted the hest authorities ; and it is believed 
the Biographical portion is strictly correct. He has purposely- 
omitted any extended sketch of the political life of General 
Jackson, believing that the time has not yet come, when the 
American People are prepared to judge dispassionately, and 
without prejudice, of this portion of his life. 

It may be safely said, that no man has Hved since the for- 
mation of the Federal Union, (except, perhaps, Washington,) 
who has stamped the impress of his character more strongly 
upon the institutions of our country, than Andrew Jackson ; 
none who has had warmer personal and political admirers ; and 
surely none who has had more determined and bitter oppo- 
nents. These feelings, though fast being modified, still, to 
some extent, exist ; and though his mortal remains now lie 



VIII 



entombed with the being he loved, and his spirit has gone to 
be judged by another than human tribunal, and the fame of his 
deeds, and his example, are all that is left us — there still re- 
main many of his combatants upon the field: " We tread on 
ashes where the fire is not extinguished." We think, there- 
fore, the time has not fully arrived, when his countrymen are 
prepared to judge of his political actions with that calmness 
and impartiality that History demands. 

The compiler has, consequently, in the preparation of his 
work, confined himself to that portion of his hfe which a 
great and thankful people have sealed with their approbation. 

The more minute Biography closes with the triumphant de- 
fense of New-Orleans; and this portion is illustrated with 
such anecdotes of his private and official character as were 
within reach. 

Several of his more important State papers, which have now 
a place in the permanent political history of this Republic, as 
well as the eloquent Eulogy of Hon. George Bancroft, have 
been added. 

Believing that a work less expensive than " Kendall's Life 
of Jackson," (which is yet only in part published,) that should 
place within the reach of all who wish to read, the principal 
circumstances in General Jackson's eventful life, was desired 
by the public, the compiler submits this work for their accept- 



PREFACE. IX 

ance. He claims nothing for originality — it is simply a com- 
pilation. 

Should it contribute in any degree to a more thorough 
knowledge of the early life and character, and to a better and 
easier acquaintance with the important State papers of the 
Hero of New-Orleans, and the Man of the Age, then will 
be satisfied the utmost wish of the 

COMPILER. 

Auburn, September 30, 1845. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

FROM 1767, TO 1812. 

Jackson's Birth and Parentage, 17 

Enters the American Revolutionary Army, 19 

Cruelty of a British Officer, 20 

Death of his Brother and Mother, 20 

Studies the Law in North Carolina, 21 

Settles in Tennessee as a Barrister, 22 

Chosen a Member of the Tennessee Convention, 23 

Elected a Member of Congress,. 23 

Chosen a Senator of Congress, 23 

Is made Major-General of Tennessee, 24 

Resigns his seat in the Senate, 24 

Appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court, 24 

Resigns, and retires to his Farm, 25 



XU C0^; TENTS. 



CHAPTER II. 

FROM THE BEGINNING OF 1S12, TO THE MONTH OF MAY IN 
THAT YEAR. 

He is called from his Retirement, 26 

Assembles 2,500 Volunteers, 27 

Descends the Mississippi 300 miles,. 27 

Is ordered to disband his Troops, and give up his stores to 

the Regular Army stationed there, 28 

Refuses to comply with the order, 29 

Fulfills his compact with his Volunteers, by taking them 

back safely to their homes, 31 



CHAPTER III. 

FROM MAY, 1813, TO APRIL, 1S14. 

His Indian Campaigns, 34 

Battles, 48 

Discontent in his Army, 58 

Proof of his unparalleled fortitude and resolution, 64 

Unexpected embarrassments, 73 

Success, 75 



CONTENTS. XIII 



CHAPTER IV. 

FROM APRIL, 1S14, TO DECEMBER, 1314. 

Perfidious conduct of the Spanish Govei-nor of Pensacola,... 76 

Jackson's Remonstrance, 77 

Nicholls' Proclamation, 77 

Defeat of the British at Fort Bowyer, 79 

Reduction of Pensacola, and Retreat of the British, SO 

Jackson's Arrival at New-Orleans, SO 

Preparations made by the British for the Reduction of New- 
Orleans, Si 



CHAPTER V. 

FROM DECEMBER 1, 1814, TO MARCH, 1815. 

Defense of New-Orleans, 82 

Jackson is beset by Traitors and Spies, S3 

Arms not furnished him, S3 

Enemy lands on the 23d December, 84 

He marches in the night and drives them back, S5 

Divers smaller Engagements, 98 

The Traitors in the Assembly, and in the Town, conspire 

against him, H2 



XIV CONTENTS. 

Defeats the British with great slaughter, Sth January, 126 

Drives them out of the country, 135 

His Farewell Address to his Army, 135 

The Account given by the British Government of this im- 
portant transaction, 138 



CHAPTER VI. 

ANECDOTES ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE LIFE AND CHARACTER 
OF JACKSON. 

His Youthful Heroism, manifested in an attack upon the Wax- 
haw Settlement during the Revolution, and when but a 

boy of fourteen years of age, 140 

First taken Prisoner — his Treatment, 144 

His Presence of Mind, 148 

His Marriage, 151 

Is set upon by Bullies, 1 53 

Arrest of a Criminal, 154 

Difficulty with Governor Sevier, 154 

Duel with Dickinson, 157 

His Adventure in the Indian Country 159 

Affray with Colonel Benton, 161 

Adoption of an Indifin Boy, 161 

His Philanthropy, 162 

Feeding on Acorns, 162 



CONTENTS. XV 

Quelling a Mutiny, 163 

Camp Discipline, ... 167 

Assault of Lieutenant Randolph, 16S 

Interview with Judge Douglass, 171 

Personal Address of General Jackson, 172 



CHAPTER VII. 

President Jackson's Message to the Senate of the United States, 
returning the Bill for Re-chartering the United States 

Bank, with his Objections, 174 

Protest to the Senate, 195 

Proclamation to the Nullifiers of South Carolina, 197 

Farewell Address, on retiring from the Presidency, 220 

Letter, declining a Sarcophagus, 241 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Remarks of Hon. Daniel Webster, at the Meeting of the 
New-York Historical Society, on the Death of Gen- 
eral Jackson, 243 

Remarks of Hon, Reverdy Johnson, before the Court of Ap- 
peals, Maryland, 246 

Eulogy of Hon. George Bancroft, 247 






THE LIFE 



OF 



ANDREW JACKSON. 



CHAPTER I . 



FROM 1767 TO 1812. 



His birth and parentage — Enters the American Revolutionary army 
— Cruelty of a British officer — Death of his brother and mother — 
Studies the law in North Carolina — Settles in Tennessee as a bar- 
rister — Chosen a member of the Tennessee Convention — Elected 
amember of Congress — Chosen a Senator of the Congress — Made 
Major-General of Tennessee — Resigns his seat in the Senate — 
Appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court — Resigns and retires 
to his farm. 

Andrew Jackson was born on the 15th day of March, 
1767. His father, (Andrew,) the youngest son of his family, 
emigrated to America from Ireland during the year 1765, bring- 
ing with him two sons, Hugh and Robert, both very young. 
Landing at Charleston, in South Carolina, he shortly after- 
ward purchased a tract of land, in what was then called the 
Waxsaw settlement, about forty-five miles above Camden ; at 
which place the subject of this history was born. Shortly 
after his birth, his father died, leaving three sons to be provi- 
ded for by their mother. She appears to have been an exem- 
plary woman, and to have executed the arduous duties which 
had devolved on her with great faithfulness and with much 
success. To the lessons she inculcated on the youthful minds 
2 



18 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

of her sons was, no doubt, owing, in a great measure, that^ 
fixed opposition to British tyranny and oppression, which 
afterward so much distinguished them. Often would she 
spend the winter's evenings in recounting to them the suffer- 
ings of their grandfather at the seige of Carrickfergus, and 
the oppressions exercised by the nobility of Ireland over the 
laboring poor ; impressing it upon them as a first duty, to ex- 
pend their lives, if it should become necessary, in defending 
and supporting the natural rights of man. 

Inheriting but a small patrimony from their father, it 
was impossible that all the sons could receive an expensive 
education. The two eldest were therefore only taught the 
rudiments of their mother tongue, at a common country school. 
But Andrew, being intended by his mother for the ministry,., 
was sent to a flourishing academy at the Waxsaw meeting- 
house, superintended by Mr. Humphries. Here he was placed 
at the study of the dead languages, and continued until the 
revolutionary war, extending its ravages into that section of 
South Carolina where he then was, rendered it necessary that 
every one should betake himself to the American standard, 
seek protection with the enemy, or flee his country. It was 
not an alternative that admitted of a tedious deliberation. The 
natural ardor of his temper, deriving encouragement from the 
recommendations of his mother, whose feelings were not less 
alive on the occasion than his own, and excited by those sen- 
timents in favor of liberty with which, by her conversation^ 
his mind had been early imbued, quickly determined him in 
the course to be pursued ; and at the tender age of fourteen,, 
accompanied by his brother Robert, he hastened to the Ameri- 
can camp, and engaged actively in the service af his country. 
His oldest brother, who had previously joined the army, had 
lost his life at the battle of Stono, from the excessive heat of 
the weather and the fatigues of the day. 

Both Andrew and Robert were at this period pretty well 
acquainted with the manual exercise, and had some idea of 
the different evolutions of the field, having been indulged by 
their mother in attending the drill and general musters of the 
neighborhood. 

The Americans being unequal, as well from the inferiority 



ENTERS THE REVOLUTIONARr ARMY. 19 

of their numbers as their discipline, to engage the British 
army in battle, had retired before it into the interior of North 
Carolina; but when they learned that Lord Cornwallis had 
crossed the Yadkin, they returned in small detachments to 
their native state. On their arrival they found Lord Rawden 
in possession of Camden, and the whole country around in a 
state of desolation. The British commander being advised of 
the return of the settlers of Waxsaw, IMajor Coffin was imme- 
diately despatched thither with a corps of light dragoons, a 
company of infantry, and a considerable number of tories, for 
their capture and destruction. Hearing of their approach, the 
settlers without delay appointed the Waxsaw meeting-house 
as a place of rendezvous, that they might the better collect 
their scattered strength, and concert some system of operations 
About forty of them had accordingly assembled at this point 
when the enemy approached, keeping the tories, who were; 
dressed in the common garb of the country, in front, whereby 
this little band of patriots were completely deceived, having' 
taken them for Captain Nisbet's company, in expectation of 
which they had been waiting. Eleven of them M'ere taken 
prisoners; the rest with difficulty fled, scattering and betaking 
themselves to the woods for concealment. Of those who thus 
escaped, though closely pursued, were Andrew Jackson and 
his brother, who, entering a secret bend in a creek that was 
close at hand, obtained a momentary respite from danger, and 
avoided, for the night, the pursuit of the enemy. The next 
day, however, having gone to a neighboring house for the 
purpose of procuring something to eat, they were broken in 
upon, and made prisoners, by Coffin's dragoons and a party of 
tories who accompanied them. Those young men, with a 
view to security, had placed their horses in the wood, on the 
margin^of a small creek, and posted a sentinel on the road 
which led by the house, that they might have information of 
any approach, and in time to elude it. But the tories, who 
were well acquainted with the country and the passes through 
the forest, had unfortunately passed the creek at the very point 
where the horses and baggage of our young soldiers were de- 
posited, and taken possession of them. Having done this, 
they cautiously approached the house, and were almost at the 



20 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

door before they were discovered. To escape was impossi- 
ble, and both were made prisoners. Being placed under guard, 
Andrew was ordered, in a very imperious tone, by a British 
officer, to clean his boots, which had become muddied in cros- 
sing the creek. This order he positively and peremptorily 
refused to obey ; alleging that he looked for such treatment as 
a prisoner of war had a right to expect. Incensed at his refu- 
sal, the officer aimed a blow at his head with a drawn sword, 
which would very probably have terminated his existence, had 
he not parried its effects by throwing up his left hand, on 
which he received a severe wound, the mark of which he 
bore to the day of his death. His brother, at the same time, for 
a silmilar offense, received a deep cut on the head, which sub- 
sequently occasioned his death. They were both now taken to 
jail, where, separated and confined, they were treated with 
marked severity, until a few days after the battle before Cam- 
den, when, in consequence of a partial exchange, effected by 
the intercessions and exertions of their mother, and Captain 
Walker of the militia, they were both released from confine- 
ment. Captain Walker, in a charge on the rear of the Brit- 
ish army, had succeeded in making thirteen prisoners, whom 
he gave in exchange for seven Americans, of which num- 
ber were these two young men. Robert, during his con- 
finement in prison, had suffered greatly, the wound on his 
head, all this time having never been dressed, was followed 
by an inflammation of the brain, which, in a few days after 
his liberation brought him to his grave. To add to the afflic- 
tion of Andrew, his mother, worn down by grief and her in- 
cessant exertions to provide clothing and other comforts for 
the suflfering prisoners who had been taken from her neigh- 
borhood, expired in a few weeks after her son, near the lines 
of the enemy, in the vicinity of Charleston. Andrew, the last 
and only surviving child, confined to a bed of sickness, occa- 
sioned by the sufferings he had been compelled to undergo 
while a prisoner, and by getting wet on his return from cap- 
tivity, was thus left in the wide world without a human being 
with whom he could claim near relationship. The small-pox, 
about the same time having made its appearance upon him, 
had well-nigh terminated his sorrows and his existence. 



HIS EDUCATION AND STUDY OF THE LAW. 21 

Having at length recovered from his complicated afflic- 
tions, he entered upon the enjoyment of his estate, which, 
although small, would have heen sufficient, under prudent 
management, to have completed his education on the liberal 
scale his mother had designed. Unfortunately, however, he, 
like too many young men, sacrificing future prosperity to pre- 
sent gratification, expended it with too profuse a hand. Com- 
ing at length to foresee that he should be finally obliged to 
rely on his own exertions for support and success in life, he 
again betook himself to his studies with increased industry. 
He recommenced under Mr. M'Culloch, in that part of Carolina 
which was then called the New Acquisition, near Hill's iron 
works. Here he studied the languages, devoting a portion of 
his time to a desultory course of studies. 

His education being now completed, so far as his wasted 
j»atrimony and the limited opportunities then aftbrded in that 
section of the country would permit, at the age of eighteen he 
turned his attention to acquiring a profession, and preparing 
himself to enter on the busy scenes of life. The pulpit, for 
which he had been designed by his mother, was now aban- 
doned for the bar ; and, in the winter of 1784, he repaired to 
Salisbury, in North Carolina, and commenced the study of 
law, under Spruce M'Cay, Esq., afterwards one of the judges 
of that state, and subsequently continued it under Colonel 
John Stokes. Having remained at Salisbury until the winter 
of 1786, he obtained a license from the judges to practice law, 
and continued in the state until the spring of 1788. 

The observations he was enabled, during this time, to 
make, satisfied him that this state presented few inducements 
to a young attorney ; and recollecting that he stood solitary 
in life, without relations to aid him in the onset, when innu- 
merable difficulties arise and retard success, he determined ta 
seek a new country. But for this he might have again re- 
turned to his native state. The death, however, of every rela- 
tion he had, had wiped away all those endearing recollections 
and circumstances which warp the mind to the place of its 
nativity. The western parts of the state of Tennessee were, 
about this time, often spoken of as presenting flattering pros- 
pects to adventurers. He immediately determined to accom- 



22 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

pany Judge M'Nairy thither, who had been appointed, and 
was going out, to hold the first supreme court that had ever 
sat in the state. Having reached the Holston, they ascertained 
it would be impossible to arrive at the time appointed for the 
session of the court ; and therefore determined to remain in 
that section of the country until fall. They recommenced 
their journey in October, and passing through an extensive 
uninhabited country, reached Nashville in the same month. 
It had not been Jackson's intention certainly to make Ten- 
nessee tile place of his future residence ; his visit was merely 
experimental, and his stay remained to be determined by the 
advantages that might be disclosed : but finding, soon after 
his arrival, that a considerable opening was offered for the 
success of a young attorney, he determined to remain. To 
one of refined feelings, the prospect before him was certainly 
not of an encouraging cast. As in all newly settled countries 
must be the case, society was loosely formed, and united by 
but few of those ties which have a tendency to enforce the 
performance of moral duty and the right execution of justice. 
The )^oung men of the place, adventurers from different sec- 
tions of the country, had become indebted to the merchants; 
there was but one lawyer in the country, and they had so 
contrived as to retain him in their business; the consequence 
was, that the merchants were entirely deprived of the means 
of enforcing against those gentlemen the execution of their 
contracts. In this state of things, Jackson made his appear- 
ance at Nashville, and, while the creditor class looked to it 
with great satisfaction, the debtors were sorely displeased. 
Applications were immediately made to him for his profes- 
sional services, and on the morning after his arrival, he issued 
seventy writs. To those prodigal gentlemen it was an alarm- 
ing circumstance ; their former security was impaired ; but 
that it might not wholly depart, they determined to force him, 
in some v/ ay or other, to leave the country ; and to effect this, 
broils and quarrels with him were resorted to. This, how- 
ever, was soon abandoned; satisfied, by the first contro- 
versy in which they had involved him, that his decision and 
firmness were such as to leave no hope of effecting any thing 
through this channel. Disregarding the opposition raised to 



CHOSEN A SENATOR IN CONGRESS. 23 

'liim, he continued, with care and industry, to press forward 
in his professional course; and his attention soon brought 
him forward, and introduced him to a profitable practice. 
Shortly afterward he was appointed attorney-general for the 
■district, in which capacity lie continued to act for several 
years. 

Indian depredations being then frequent on the Cumber- 
land, every man, of necessity, became a soldier. Unassisted 
by the government, the settlers were forced to rely for secu- 
rity on their own bravery and exertions. Although young, 
no person was more distinguished than Andrew Jackson in 
defending the country against these predatorv incursions of 
the savages, who continually harrassed the frontiers, and 
not unfrequently approached the heart of the settlements, 
which were thin, but not widely extended. He aided alike 
in garrisoning the forts, and in pursuing and chastising the 
enemy. 

In the year 1796, having, by his patriotism, firmness, 
and talents, secured to himself a distinguished standing with 
all classes, he w^as chosen one of the members of the con- 
vention for establishing a constitution for the State. His 
good conduct and zeal for the public interest, and the repub- 
lican feelings and sentiments which were conspicuously dis- 
closed in the formation and arrangement of this instrument, 
brought him more prominently to view; and, without propo- 
sing or soliciting, he was in the same year elected a Member 
of the House of Representatives in Congress, for the State 
of Tennessee. The following year, his reputation continu- 
ing to increase, and every bosom feeling a wish to raise him 
to still higher honors, he was chosen a Senator of the United 
States Congress, and took his seat on the 22d day of Novem- 
ber, 1797. About the middle of April, business of an im- 
portant and private nature, imposed on him the necessity of 
asking leave of absence, and returning home. Leave was 
granted, and before the next session he resigned his seat. 
He was but a little more than thirty years of age ; and hence 
scarcely eligible by the constitution at the time he was 
elected. The sedition law, about which so much concern 
and feeling had been manifested through the country, was 



24 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON'. 

introduced into the Senate by Mr. Lloyd, of Maryland, in 
June, 1798, and passed that body on the 4th of July follow- 
ing; hence the' name of Jackson, owing to the leave of 
absence which had been granted him in April, does not ap- 
pear on the journals. On the alien law, however, and the 
effort to repeal the stamp act, he was present, resting in the 
minority, and on the side of the republican principles of the 
country. 

The State of Tennessee, on its admission into the Un- 
ion, comprising but one military division, and General 
Conway, who commanded it as major-general, dying about 
this time, Jackson, without being consulted on the subject, 
and without the least intimation of what was in agitation, 
was, as the constitution of the State directs, chosen by the 
field-officers to succeed him ; which appointment he continued 
to hold until IMay, 1814, when he was constituted a major- 
general in the United States' service. 

Becoming tired of political life, for the intrigues of 
which he declared himself unqualified, and having for two 
years voted in the minority in Congress, he resigned, after 
the first session, his seat in the Senate. To this measure he 
was strongly induced, from a desire to make way for General 
Smith, who he conjectured would in that capacity be able to 
render more important services to the government than him- 
self. His country, unwilling that his talents should remain 
inactive and unemployed, again demanded his services. Im- 
mediately after his resignation, he was appointed one of the 
judges of the Supreme Court of the State. Sensibly alive to 
the difficult duties of this station, distrusting his legal ac- 
quirements, and impressed with the great injury he might 
produce to suitors by erroneous decisions, he advanced to the 
office with reluctance, and in a short time resigned, leaving it 
open for those who he believed were better qualified than 
himself to discharge its intricate and important duties. Un- 
ambitious of those distinctions and honors, which young men 
are usually proud to possess, and finding too that his circum- 
stances and condition in life were not such as to permit his 
time and attention to be devoted to public matters, he deter- 
mined to yield them into other hands, and to devote himself 



RETIRES TO PRIVATE LIFE. 25 

to agricultural pursuits : and accordingly settled himself on 
an excellent farm ten miles from Nashville, on the Cumber- 
land river, where for several years he enjoyed all the comforts 
of domestic and social intercourse. Abstracted from the busy 
scenes of public life, pleased with retirement, surrounded by 
friends whom he loved, and who entertained for him the 
highest veneration and respect, and blessed with an amiable 
and obedient wife, nothing seemed wanting to the completion of 
that happiness which he so anxiously desired while in office. 



CHAPTER II. 

FROM THE BEGINNING OF 1812, TO THE MONTH OF MAY IN 
THAT YEAR. 

He is called from his retirement — Assembles 2500 volunteers — De- 
scends the Mississippi 300 miles — Is ordered to disband his troops 
and give up his stores to the regular army stationed there — Refu- 
ses to comply with the order — Fulfills his compact with his vol- 
unteers, by taking them back safely to their homes. 

The repose of Jackson, and the pleasures derived from 
his farm, were now destined to be abandoned for the duties 
of public life. After many years of negotiation and entreaty 
with Great Britain, — after forbearance such as no country in 
the w^orld ever show^ed before, — the Congress, unanimously 
called upon by the people for that purpose, declared icar 
against Great Britain. 

The Government of the United States, during the same 
year in Avhich they declared the war, made preparations for 
calling out volunteers for the defense of the country. Jack- 
son, then happy on his farm in the neighborhood of Nashville, 
which lies in about the middle of the fine State of Ten- 
nessee, which is bounded on the north by Kentucky, on the 
east by the Allegany mountains, on the south by the States 
of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, and on the west by the 
great river IVIississippi, — Jackson, happy on his farm, in the 
midst of this fine and flourishing State, and retired as he 
apparently thought for ever, from all public affairs, though 
only forty-five years of age, — was again roused by the insults 
that had been so repeatedly offered to his country, by the 
wrongs inflicted upon her citizens, and by the recollection, 
no doubt, of the death of his mother, of the death of his 
brother Robert, of the cause of those deaths; and, if he 
could have forgotten the horrid account of the injuries in- 
flicted upon the country of his father and his mother, there 
was that scar on his hand, inflicted by a British officer, who 
had aimed a blow at his life because he had refused to clean 
the dirt off his boots ; there was that scar to keep his virtu- 



RAISES AN ARMY OF VOLUNTEERS. 27 

ous resentment alive, even if he could have forgotten the 
wrongs of Ireland, and the ruin and extermination of every 
relation in the world. 

Nevertheless, he did not seek a command in the regular 
army which was about to be raised ; but the Congress having 
passed an act in February, and another in July, 1812, author- 
izing the President (then Madison) to accept of the services 
of fifty thousand volunteers, he addressed the citizens of his 
division, and twenty-five hundred flocked to his standard. A 
tender of them having been made, and the offer accepted, in 
November, 1812, he received orders to place himself at their 
head and to descend the Mississippi, for the defense of the 
lower country, which was then supposed to be in danger. 
Accordingly, on the 10th of December, 1812, those troops 
rendezvoused at Nashville prepared to advance to the place of 
their destination ; and although the weather was then exces- 
sively severe, and the ground covered with snow, no troops 
could have displayed greater firmness. The general was 
everywhere with them, inspiring them with the ardor that 
animated his own bosom. The cheerful spirit Avith which 
they submitted to hardships and bore privations on the very 
onset of their military career, as well as the order and subor- 
dination they so readily observed, were happy presages of 
what was to be expected when they should be directed to 
face an enemy. 

Natchez is a town on the banks of the Mississippi, full 
three hundred miles from Nashville, and about a hundred 
miles from New-Orleans, which is near the mouths of the 
Mississippi. Natchez was the place of rendezvous. He 
arrived there in the month of January ; and very soon after- 
ward, there took place a transaction which gave the Govern- 
ment of the United States a specimen of that inflexibility of 
character in him which has since been so fully developed, 
tinder circumstances of greater peril than any other man has 
ever encountered. 

Having procured supplies, and made the necessary ar- 
rangments for an active campaign, they proceeded the 7th 
of January, 1813, on their journey; and, descending the 
Ohio and Mississippi through cold and ice, arrived and halted 



28 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

at Natchez. Here Jackson had been instructed to remain 
until he should receive further orders. Having chosen a 
healthy site for the encampment of his troops, he devoted his 
time, with the utmost industry, to training and preparing them 
for active service. The clouds of war, however, in that 
quarter havhig blown over, an order was received from the 
Secretary of War, dated the 5th of January, 1813, directing 
him, on the receipt thereof, to dismiss those under his com- 
mand from service, and to take measures for delivering over 
every article of public property in his possession to Brigadier- 
general Wilkinson. When this order reached his camp, 
there w^ere one hundred and fifty on the sick report, fifty-six 
of whom were unable to rise from their beds, and almost the 
whole of them destitute of the means of defraying the 
expenses of their return. The consequence of a strict com- 
pliance with the Secretary's order inevitably would have 
been, that many of the sick must have perished, while most 
of the others, from their destitute condition, would of neces- 
sity have been compelled to enlist in the regular army, under 
General Wilkinson. Such alternatives were neither congenial 
with their general's wishes nor such as they had expected, on 
adventuring with him in the service of their country. He had 
carried them from home, and, the fate of war and disease 
apart, it was his duty, he believed, to bring them back. 
Whether an expectation that, by this plan, many of them 
would be forced into the regular ranks, had formed any part 
of the motive that occasioned the order for their discharge 
at so great a distance from home, cannot be known ; and it 
would be uncharitable to insinuate against the Government 
so serious an accusation, without the strongest evidence to 
support it. Be this as it may, General Jackson could not 
think of sacrificing or injuring an army that had shown such 
devotedness to their country ; and he determined to disregard 
the order, and march them again to their homes, where they 
had been embodied, rather than discharge them where they 
would be exposed to the greatest hardships and dangers. To 
this measure he was prompted, not only by the reasons 
already mentioned, but by the consideration that many of the 
troops under his command were young men, the children of 



RESISTS THE ORDERS OF GOVERNMENT. 29 

his neighbors'and acquaintances, who had delivered them into 
his hands as to a guardian, who, with parental solicitude, 
would watch over and protect their welfare. To have aban- 
doned them, therefore, at such a time, and under such circum- 
stances, would have drawn on him the merited censure of 
the most deserving part of his fellow-citizens, and deeply 
wounded his own generous feelings. Add to this, those 
young men who were confined by sickness, learning the 
nature of the order he had received, implored him, w^ith tears 
in their eyes, not to abandon them in so great an extremity, 
reminding him at the same time of his assurances, that he 
would be to them as a father, and of the implicit confidence 
they had placed in his word. This was an appeal w^hich it 
w^ould have been difficult for the feelings of Jackson to have 
resisted, had it been without the support of other weighty 
considerations; but, influenced by them all, he had no hesi- 
tation in coming to a determination. 

Having made known his resolution to the field-officers 
of his division, it met, apparently, their approbation; but, 
after retiring from his presence, they assembled late at night 
in secret caucus, and proceeded to recommend to him an 
abandonment of his purpose, and an immediate discharge of 
his troops. Great as was the astonishment which this meas- 
ure excited in the General, it produced a still higher sentiment 
of indignation. In reply, he urged the duplicity of their 
conduct, and reminded them that, although to those who 
possessed funds and health such a course could produce no 
inconvenience, yet to the unfortunate soldier, who w^as alike 
destitute of both, no measure could be more calamitous. He 
concluded by telling them that his resolution, not having been 
hastily concluded on, nor founded on light considerations, 
was unalterably fixed ; and that immediate preparations must 
be made for carrying into execution the determination he had 
formed. 

He lost no time in making known to the Secretary of 
War the resolution he had adopted, to disregard the order he 
had given, and to return his army to the place where he had 
received it. He painted in strong terms the evils which the 
course pursued by the Government was calculated to produce, 



30 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

and expressed the astonishment he felt that it should have 
originated with the once redoubted advocate of soldiers' rights.. 

General Wilkinson, to whom the public property was 
directed to be delivered, learning the determination which,' 
had been taken by Jackson to march his troops back, and toi 
take with them so much of that property as should be neces- 
sary to their return, in a letter of solemn and mysterious 
import, admonished him of the consequences which were 
before him, and of the awful and dangerous responsibility he 
was taking on himself by so bold a measure. General 
Jackson replied, that his conduct, and the consequences ta 
which it might lead, had been deliberately weighed and well 
considered, and that he was prepared to abide the result,, 
whatever it might be. Wilkinson had previously given 
orders to his officers to recruit from Jackson's army; they 
were advised, however, on their first appearance, that those 
troops were already in the service of the United States, and 
that, thus situated, they should not be enlisted ; and that he 
would arrest and confine the first officer, who dared to enter 
his encampment with any such object in view. 

The quarter-master, having been ordered to furnish the 
necessary transportation for the conveyance of the sick and 
the baggage to Tennessee, immediately set about the perform- 
ance of the task ; but, as the event proved, with not the least 
intention of executing it. Still, he continued to keep up the 
semblance of exertion ; and the better to deceive, the very 
day before that which had been appointed for breaking up 
the encampment and commencing the return march, eleven 
wagons arrived there by his order. The next morning, how- 
ever, when every thing was about to be packed up, acting 
doubtless from orders, and intending to produce embarrass- 
ment, the quarter-master entered the encampment, and dis- 
charged the whole. He was grossly mistaken in the man he 
had to deal with, and had now played his tricks too far to be 
able to accomplish the object which he had, no doubt, been 
intrusted to effect. Disregarding their dismissal, so evidently 
designed to prevent his marching back his men, General 
Jackson seized upon these wagons, yet within his lines, and 
compelled them to proceed in the transportation of his sick. 



RETURNS WITH HIS VOLUNTEERS. 31 

It deserves to be recollected that this quarter-master, so soon 
as he received directions for furnishing transportation, had 
despatched an express to General Wilkinson ; and there can 
he but little doubt, that the course of duplicity he afterward 
pursued was a concerted plan between him and that general 
to defeat the design of Jackson, compel him to abandon the 
course he had adopted, and in this way draw to the regular 
army many of the soldiers, who, from necessity, would be 
driven to enlist. In this attempt they were fortunately disap- 
pointed. Adhering to his original purpose, he successfully 
resisted every stratagem of Wilkinson, and marched the 
whole of his division to the section of country whence they 
had been drawn, and dismissed them from service, as he had 
been instructed. 

To present an example that might buoy up the sinking 
spirits of his troops in the long and arduous march before 
them, he yielded up his horses to the sick, and, trudging on 
foot, he encountered all the hardships that were met by the 
soldiers. It was at a time of year when the roads were 
extremely bad, and the swamps lying in their passage deep 
and full ; yet, under these circumstances, he gave his troops an 
example of patience and endurance of hardship that lulled to 
silence all complaints, and won to him, still stronger than 
before, the esteem and respect of every one. On arriving at 
Nashville, he communicated to the President of the United 
States the course he had pursued, and the reasons that had 
induced it. If it had become necessary, he had sufficient 
grounds on which he could have justified his conduct. Had 
he suffered General Wilkinson to have accomplished that 
which was clearly his intention, although it was an event 
which might at the moment have benefitted the service, by 
adding an increased strength to the army, yet the example 
would have been of so serious and exceptionable a character, 
that injury would have been the final and unavoidable result. 
Whether the intention of thus forcing these men to enlist 
into the regular ranks had its existence under the direction of 
the Government or not, such would have been the universal 
belief ; and all would have felt a deep abhorrence at behold- 
ing the patriots of the country drawn off from their homes 



■32 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON 

under pretense of danger ; while the concealed design was, 
by increasing their necessities at a distance from their resi- 
dence, to compel them to an act which they would have 
abstained from under different circumstances. His conduct, 
terrible as it might at first appear, was, in the end, approved, 
and the expenses incurred were directed to be paid by the 
Government. 



CHAPTER III. 

FROM MAY, 1813, TO APRIL, 1S14. 

His Indiaa campaign — Battles — Discontent in his army — Proof of 
his unparalleled'fortitude and resolution — Unexpected embar- 
rassments — Success. 

Jackson, having taken his volunteers safely back to 
their own country, he discharged them, there being little or 
no expectation of their being wanted again. It ought to be 
observed, because it will by-and-by be found to be of great 
importance, that these volunteers had been engaged to serve 
one year out of two, to be computed from the day of rendez- 
vous, unless sooner discharged ; that is to say, they engaged 
to be at the command of the Government for the space of 
two years from the time of the first rendezvous, unless they 
should before the end of the two years have performed one 
year's service. I beg the reader to bear this in mind, for he 
will, by-and-by, find it leading to perils such as no man but 
Jackson ever encountered ; or, at any rate, such as no man 
but Jackson ever overcame. 

There was at this time (May, 1813) no appearance that 
British hostility would bear against any part of Louisiana, in 
which New-Orleans is situated. But the repose of Jackson 
and his volunteers was not of long duration ; for the savages, 
instigated by an impostor who went among them, calling 
himself a prophet, who gave them assurances of the aid and 
protection of Great Britain, whose power and riches he 
represented as without bounds ; the savages thus instigated, 
made incursions into the States of Tennessee, Kentucky, and 
other parts, committing murders and cruelties; slaughtering 
women and children with the most savage barbarity. It 
was absolutely necessary to punish them : and, therefore, first 
the Government of Tennessee, and afterwards, the General 
Government authorized war, w^hen all eyes were turned 
upon Jackson to put an end to these horrid cruelties. He 
therefore called upon his volunteers who had followed him 
3 



34 I-IFE OF ANDREAV JACKSON. 

to Natchez in the spring of the year, and appointed the 4th: 
of October (1813) for them to meet him, armed and equipped 
for active service. 

When these multiplied outrages of the Indians in the 
West and South at length attracted the attention of the 
General Government, an application was made through their 
agent (Colonel Hawkins) to the principal chiefs of the nation, 
who, desirous of preserving their friendly relations with the 
United States, resolved to punish the murderers with death, 
and immediately appointed a party of warriors to carry their 
determination into execution. No sooner was this done than 
the spirit of the greater part of the nation, which from policy 
had been kept in a considerable degree dormant, suddenly 
hurst to a flame, and kindled into a civil war. 

It was not difficult for the friends of those w^lio had 
been put to death to prevail on others, who secretly applauded 
the acts for which they suffered, to enter warmly into their 
resentments against those who had been concerned in bring- 
ing them to punishment. An occasion, as they believed, was 
now presented, which fully authorized them to throw aside 
all those injunctions of secrecy with regard to their hostile 
intentions, which had been imposed on them by Tecumseh 
and their prophets. This restraint, w^hich hitherto they had 
regarded with much difficulty, they now resolved to lay aside, 
and to execute at once their insatiate and long-projected 
vengeance not only on the white people, but on those of 
their own nation who, by this last act of retaliatory justice, 
had unequivocally shown a disposition to preserve their 
friendship with the former. The cloak of concealment being 
now thrown aside, the war- clubs were immediately seen in 
every section of the nation, but more particularly among the 
numerous hordes residing near the Alabama. Brandishing 
these in their hands, they rushed in the first instance on those 
of their own countrymen w^ho had shown a disposition to 
preserve their relations with the United States, and obliged 
them to retire towards the white settlements, and place them- 
selves in forts, to escape the first ebullition of their rage. 
Encouraged by this success, and their numbers, which hourly 
increased, and infatuated to the highest degree by the predic- 



INDIAN CAMPAIGN. 35 

tions of their prophets, who assured them that "the Great 
Spirit" was on their side, and would enable them to triumph 
over all their enemies, they began to make immediate prepar- 
ations for extending their ravages to the white settlements. 
Fort Minims, situated in the Tensaw settlement in the Missis- 
sippi territory, was the first point destined to satiate their 
cruelty and vengeance. It contained, at that time, about one 
hundred and fifty men, under the command of Major Beasley, 
besides a considerable number of women and children, who 
had betaken themselves to it for security. Having collected 
a supply of ammunition from the Spaniards at Pensacola, 
and assembled their warriors, to the number of six or seven 
hundred, the war party, commanded by Weatherford, a dis- 
tinguished chief of the nation, on the 30th of August, 1813, 
commenced their assault on the fort, and having succeeded in. 
carrying it, put to death nearly three hundred persons, inclu- 
ding women and children, with the most savage barbarity. 
The slaughter was indiscriminate ; mercy was extended to 
none ; and the tomahawk, at the same stroke, often cleft the 
mother and the child. But seventeen of the whole number 
in the fort escaped to bring intelligence of the dreadful catas- 
trophe. This monstrous and unprovoked outrage no sooner 
reached Tennessee than the whole State was thrown into a 
ferment, and nothing was thought or spoken of but retaliatory 
vengeance. Considerable excitement had already been pro- 
duced by brutalities of earlier date, and measures had been 
adopted by the Governor, in conformity with instructions 
from the Secretary of War, for commencing a campaign 
against them; but the massacre at Fort Mimms, which 
threatened to be followed by the entire destruction of the 
Mobile and Tombigbee settlements, inspired a deep and 
universal sentiment of solicitude, and an earnest wish for 
speedy and effectual operations. The anxiety felt on the 
occasion was greatly increased from an apprehension that 
General Jackson would not be able to command. He was the 
only man known in the State who was believed qualified to 
discharge the arduous duties of the station, and who could 
carry with him the complete confidence of his soldiers. He 
was at this time seriously indisposed, and confined to his 



36 I'IFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

room with a fractured arm ; but, although this apprehension 
was seriously indulged, arrangements were in progress, and 
measures industriously taken, to prepare and press the expe- 
dition with every possible despatch. 

. A numerous collection of respectable citizens, who con- 
vened at Nashville on the 18th of September, 1813, for 
the purpose of devising the most effectual ways and means of 
aflfording protection to their brethren in distress, after confer- 
ring with the Governor and General Jackson, who was still 
confined to his room, strongly advised the propriety of march- 
ing a sufficient army into the heart of the Creek nation ; and 
■accordingly recommended this measure with great earnestness 
to the Legislature, which in a few days afterward commenced 
4ts session. That body, penetrated with the same sentiments 
which animated the whole country, immediately enacted a 
law, authorizing the Executive to call into the field thirty-five 
hundred of the militia, to be marched against the Indians ; 
and to guard against all difficulties, in the event the General 
Government should omit to adopt them into their service, 
three hundred thousand dollars were voted for their support. 

Additional reasons were at hand why active operations 
should be commenced with the least possible delay. The 
settlers were all fleeing to the interior, and every day brought 
intelligence that the Creeks, collected in considerable force, 
were bending their course towards the frontiers of Tennessee. 
The Governor now issued an order to General Jackson, who, 
notwithstanding the state of his health, had determined to 
assume the command, requiring him to call out, and rendez- 
vous at Fayetteville in the shortest possible time, two thou- 
sand of the militia and volunteers of his division, to repel 
any invasion that might be contemplated. Colonel Coffee, in 
addition to five hundred cavalry already raised and under his 
command, was authorized and instructed to organize and 
receive into his regiment any mounted riflemen that might 
make a tender of their services. 

Having received these orders, Jackson hastened to give 
them effect; and with this object, and with a view to greater 
expedition, appealed to those volunteers who, with him, had 
heretofore descended the Mississippi to Natchez. He urged 



INDIAN CAMPAIGN. 37 

them to appear at the place designated for the rendezvous on 
the 4th of October, 1813, equipped and armed for active 
service. He pointed out the imperious necessity which 
demanded their services, and urged them to be punctual ; for 
that their frontiers were threatened with invasion by a savage 
foe. "Already are large bodies of the hostile Creeks march- 
ing to your borders, with their scalping-knives unsheathed, 
to butcher your women and children : time is not to be lost. 
We must hasten to the frontier, or we shall find it drenched 
in the blood of our citizens. The health of your general is 
restored — he will command in person." In the mean time, 
until this force could be collected and organized, Colonel 
Coffee, with the force then under his command, and such 
additional mounted riflemen as could be attached at a short 
notice, was directed to hasten forward to the neighborhood of 
Huntsville, and occupy some eligible position for the defense 
of the frontier, until the infantry should arrive ; when it was 
contemplated, by the nearest possible route, to press on to 
Fort St. Stephen, with a view to the protection and defense 
of Mississippi. 

Every exertion was now made to hasten the prepara- 
tions for a vigorous campaign. Orders were given to the 
quarter-master to furnish the necessary munitions, with the 
proper transportation ; and to the contractors, to provide 
ample supplies of provisions. The day of their rendezvous 
being arrived, and the general not being sufficiently recovered 
to attend in person, he forwarded by his aid-de-camp, Major 
Reid, an address, to be read to the troops, accompanied by an 
order for the establishment of the police of the camp. In 
this address he pointed to the unprovoked injuries that had 
been so long inflicted by this horde of merciless and cruel 
savages, and entreated his soldiers to evince that zeal in the 
defense of their country which the importance of the moment 
so much required. " We are about to furnish these savages 
a lesson of admonition; we are about to teach them that our 
long forbearance has not proceeded from an insensibility to 
wrongs, or an inability to redress them. They stand in need 
of such warning. In proportion as we have borne with their 
insults and submitted to their outrages, they have multiplied 



38 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

in number and increased in atrocity. But the measure of 
their offenses is at length filled. The blood of our women 
and children, recently spilt at Fort Mimms, calls for our ven- 
geance : it must not call in vain. Our borders must no longer 
be disturbed by the war-whoop of these savages, and the 
cries of their suffering victims. The torch that has been 
lighted up must be made to blaze in the heart of their own 
country. It is time they should be made to feel the weight 
of a power which, because it was merciful, they believed to 
be impotent. But how shall a war so long forborne, and so 
loudly called for by retributive justice, be waged ? Shall we 
imitate the example of our enemies in the disorder of their 
movements and the savageness of their dispositions ? Is it 
worthy the character of American soldiers, who take up arms 
to redress the wrongs of an injured country, to assume no 
better models than that furnished them by barbarians .' No, 
fellow-soldiers; great as are the grievances that have called 
us from our homes, we must not permit disorderly passions 
to tarnish the reputation we shall carry along with us. We 
must and will be victorious ; but we must conquer as men 
who owe nothing to chance, and who, in the midst of victory, 
can still be mindful of what is due to humanity ! 

" We will commence the campaign by an inviolable at- 
tention to discipline and subordination. Without a strict 
observance of these, victory must ever be uncertain, and 
ought hardly to be exulted in, even when gained. To what 
but the entire disregard of order and subordination are we to 
ascribe the disasters which have attended our arms in the 
North during the present war ? How glorious will it be to 
remove the blots which have tarnished the fair character 
bequeathed us by the fathers of our revolution ! The bosom 
of your general is full of hope. He knows the ardor which 
animates you, and already exults in the triumph which your 
strict observance of discipline and good order will render 
certain." 

For the police of his camp, he announced the following 
order : 

" The chain of sentinels will be marked, and the sentries 
posted precisely at ten o'clock to-day. 



INDIAN CAMPAIGN. 39 

<< No sutler will be suffered to sell spirituous liquors to any 
soldier, without permission in writing from a commissioned 
officer, under the penalties prescribed by the rules and articles 
of war. 

" No citizen will be permitted to pass the chain of sentinels 
after retreat-beat in the evening, until reveille in the morning. 
Drunkenness, the bane of all orderly encampments, is posi- 
tively forbidden, both in officers and privates : officers, under 
the penalty of immediate arrest ; and privates, of being 
placed under guard, there to remain until liberated by a court- 
martial. 

"At reveille-beat, all officers and soldiers are to appear on 
parade, with their arms and accoutrements in proper order. 

" On parade, silence, the duty of a soldier, is positively 
commanded. 

" No officer or soldier is to sleep out of camp, but by per- 
mission obtained." 

These rules, to those who had scarcely yet passed the 
line that separates the citizen from the soldier, and who had 
not yet laid aside the notions of self-sovereignty, had the 
•appearance of too much rigor; but the general well knew 
that the expedition in which they were embarked involved 
much hazard, and that, although such lively feelings w^ere 
manifested now, yet when hardships pressed, these might 
cease. He considered it much safer, therefore, to lay before 
them at once the rules of conduct to which they must con- 
form ; believing that it would be more difficult to drive licen- 
tiousness from his camp than to prevent its entrance. 

Impatient to join his division, although his health was 
far from being restored, his arm only beginning to heal, the 
general in a few days afterward set out for the encampment, 
and reached it on the 7th of October, 1813. Finding on his 
arrival that the requisition was not complete, either in the 
number of men or the necessary equipments, measures were 
instantly taken to remedy the deficiency. Orders were di- 
rected to the several brigadiers in his division to hasten 
immediately their respective quotas, fully equipped for active 
operation.' 

Circumstances did not permit him to remain at this 



40 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

place long enough to have the delinquencies complained of" 
remedied, and the ranks of his army filled. Colonel Coffee 
had proceeded with his mounted volunteers to cover Hunts- 
ville, and give security to the frontiers, where alarm greatly 
prevailed. On the night of the 8th a letter was received 
from him, dated two days before, advising that two Indians, 
belonging to the peace party, had just arrived at the Tennes- 
see river from Chinnaby's fort, on the Coosa, with informatiou 
that the war party had despatched eight hundred or a thou- 
sand of their warriors to attack the frontiers of Georgia; and, 
with the remainder of their forces, were marching against 
Huntsville, or Fort Hampton. In consequence of this intel- 
ligence, exertions were made to hasten a movement. Late 
on the following night another express arrived, confirming 
the former statement, and representing the enemy, in great 
force, to be rapidly approaching the Tennessee. Orders were 
now given for preparing the line of march, and by nine 
o'clock the next day the whole division was in motion. 
They had not proceeded many miles, when they were met 
with intelligence that Colonel Gibson, who had been sent out 
by Coffee to reconnoitre the movements of the enemy, had 
been killed by their advance. A strong desire had been man- 
ifested to be led forward ; that desire was now strengthened 
by the information just received ; and it was with difficulty 
their emotions could be restrained. They accelerated their 
march, and before eight o'clock at night arrived at Huntsville, 
a distance of thirty-two miles. Learning here that the infor- 
mation was erroneous which had occasioned so hasty a 
movement, the general encamped his troops ; having intended 
to march them that night to the Tennessee river, had it been 
confirmed. The next day the line of march was resumed. 
The influence of the late excitement was now visible in the 
lassitude which followed its removal. Proceeding slowly, 
they crossed the Tennessee at Ditto's lauding, and united in 
the evening with Colonel Coffee's regiment, which had pre- 
viously occupied a commanding bluff on the south bank of 
the river. From this place, a few days afterward, Jackson 
detached Colonel Coffee with seven hundred men to scour the 
Black Warrior, a stream running from the north-east, and 



INDIAN CAMPAIGN. 41 

emptying- into the Tombigbee ; on which were supposed to be 
settled several populous villages of the enemy. He himself 
remained at this encampment a week, using the utmost pains 
in training his troops for service, and laboring incessantly to 
procure the necessary supplies for a campaign, w^hich he had 
determined to carry directly into the heart of the enemy's 
country. Towards the latter object, his industry had been 
employed and his attention invariably directed, from the time 
the expedition was projected. 

With General Cocke, who commanded the division of 
East Tennessee militia, an arrangement had been made the 
preceding month, in which he had engaged to furnish large 
quantities of bread-stuff at Ditto's landing. The facility of 
procuring it in that quarter, and the convenient transportation 
afforded by the river, left no doubt on the mind of Jackson 
but that the engagement would be punctually complied with,. 
To provide, however, against the bare possibility of a failure, 
and to be guarded against all contingencies that might happen, 
he had addressed his applications to various other sources. 
He had, on the same subject, written in the most pressing 
manner to the Governor of Georgia, wdth whose forces it 
was proposed to act in concert ; to Colonel Meigs, agent to 
the Cherokee nation of Indians ; and to General White, who 
commanded the advance of the East Tennessee troops. Pre- 
viously to his arival at Huntsville, he had received assurances 
from the two latter that a considerable supply of flour for the 
use of his army had been procured, and was then at Hiwas- 
see, where boats were ready to transport it. From General 
Cocke himself, about the same time, a letter was received, 
stating that a hundred and fifty barrels of flour were then 
on the way to his encampment; and expressing a belief that 
he should be able to procure, and forw^ard on immediately, a 
thousand barrels more. With pressing importunity he had 
addressed himself to the contractors, and they had given him 
assurances, that on his crosssing the Tennessee they would 
be prepared with twenty day's rations for his whole com- 
mand ; but finding, on his arrival at Ditto's, that their prepar- 
ations were not in such forwardness as he had been led to 
expect, he was compelled for a time to suspend any active 



42 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

and general operations. Calculating, however, with great 
confidence, on exertions which he had heen promised should 
he unremitting, and on the speedy arrival of those supplies, 
descending the river, which had been already unaccountably 
delayed, he hoped in a few days to be placed in a situation to 
act efficiently. While he was encouraged by these expecta- 
tions, and only waiting their fulfillment that he might advance, 
Shelocta, the son of Chinnaby, a principal chief among the 
friendly Creeks, arrived at his camp, to solicit his speedy 
movement for the relief of his father's fort, which was then 
threatened by a considerable body of the war party, who had 
■advanced to the neighborhood of the Ten Islands, on the 
Coosa. Influenced by his representations, and anxious to ex- 
tend rehef, Jackson, on the 18th, gave orders for taking up the 
line of march on the following day, and notified the contractors 
of this arrangement, that they might be prepared to issue im- 
mediately such supplies as they had on hand; but to his great 
astonishment, he then, for the first time, was apprised of their 
entire inability to supply him while on his march. Having 
drawn what they had in their power to furnish, amounting to 
only a few day's rations, they were deposed from office, and 
others appointed, on whose industry and performance he be- 
lieved he might more safely rely. The scarcity of his provi- 
sions, however, at a moment like the present, when there was 
every appearance that the enemy might be met, and a blow 
stricken to advantage, was not suflicient to wave his determin- 
ation already taken. The route he would have to take to gain 
the fort, lay for a considerable distance up the river : might 
not the boats, long expected from Hiwassee, and which he felt 
strongly assured must be near at hand, be met with on the 
way ? He determined to proceed ; and having passed his army 
and baggage-wagons over several mountains of stupendous 
size, and such as were thought almost impassable by foot- 
passengers, he arrived on the 22d of October at Thompson's 
creek, which empties into the Tennessee, twenty-four miles 
above Ditto's. At this place he proposed the establishment of 
a permanent depot, for the reception of supplies, to be sent 
either up or down the river. Disappointed in the hopes with 
which he had ventured on his march, he remained here several 



INDIAN CAMPAIGN. 43 

days, in expectation of the boats that were coming to his relief. 
Thus harrassed at the first onset by difficulties wholly unex- 
pected, and which, from the numerous and strong assurances 
received, he could by no means have calculated on ; fearing, 
too, that the same disregard of duty might induce a continu- 
ance, he lost no time in opening every avenue to expedient, 
that the chances of future failure might be diminished. To 
General Flournoy, who commanded at Mobile, he applied, 
urging him to procure bread-stuff", and have it forwarded up 
the Alabama by the time he should arrive on that river. The 
agent of the Choctaws, Colonel M'Kee, who was then on the 
Tombigbee, was addressed in the same style of entreaty. Ex- 
presses were despatched to General White, who, with the 
advance of the East Tennessee division, had arrived at the 
Look-out mountain, in the Cherokee nation, urging him by all 
means to hasten on the supplies. The assistance of the Gov- 
ernor of Tennessee was also earnestly besought. To facilitate 
exertion, and to assure success, every thing within his reach 
was attempted : several persons of wealth and patriotism in 
Madison county, were solicited to afford the contractors all the 
aid in their power; and to induce them more readily to extend 
it, their deep interest immediately at stake was pointed to, and 
their deplorable and dangerous situation, should, necessity com- 
pel him to withdraw his army, and leave them exposed to the 
mercy of the .savages. 

While these measures were taking, two runners from Turkey- 
town, an Indian village, despatched by Path-killer, a chief of 
the Cherokees, arrived at the camp. They brought information 
that the enemy, from nine of the hostile towns, were assem- 
bling in great force near the Ten Islands ; and solicited that 
immediate assistance should be afforded the friendly Creeks 
and Cherokees in their neighborhood, who were exposed to 
imminent danger. His want of provisions was not yet reme- 
died; but distributing the partial supply that w^as on hand, he 
resolved to proceed, in expectation that the relief he had so 
earnestly looked for would in a little while arrive, and be for- 
warded to him. To prepare his troops for an engagement, 
which he foresaw was soon to take place, he thus addressed 
them: 



44 l-IFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

« You have, fellow-soldiers, at length penetrated the country 
of your enemies. It is not to be believed that they will aban- 
don the soil that imbosoms the bones of their forefathers, 
without furnishing you an opportunity of signalizing your 
valor. Wise men do not expect, brave men will not desire it. 
It was not to travel unmolested through a barren wilderness, 
that you quitted your families and homes, and submitted to sa 
many privations; it was to avenge the cruelties committed 
upon our defenseless frontiers by the inhuman Creeks, instiga- 
ted by their no less inhuman allies. You shall not be disap- 
pointed. If the enemy flee before us, we will overtake and 
chastise him ; we will teach him how dreadful, when once 
aroused, is the resentment of freemen. But it is not by boast- 
ing that punishment is to be inflicted, or victory obtained. 
The same resolution that prompted us to take up arms, must 
inspire us in battle. IMen thus animated, and thus resolved, 
barbarians can never conquer ; and it is an enemy barbarous 
in the extreme that we have now to face. Their reliance will 
be on the damage they can do you while you are asleep, and 
unprepared for action : their hopes shall fail them in the hour 
of experiment. Soldiers who know their duty, and are ambi- 
tious to perform it, are not to be taken by surprise. Our 
sentinels will never sleep, nor our soldiers be unprepared for 
action ; yet, while it is enjoined upon the sentinels vigilantly 
to watch the approach of the foe, they are at the same time 
commanded not to fire at shadows. Imaginary dangers must 
not deprive them of entire self-possession. Our soldiers will 
lie with their arms in their hands ; and the moment an alarm 
is given, they will move to their respective positions without 
noise and without confusion. They will be thus enabled to 
hear the orders of their oflicers, and to obey them with promp- 
titude. 

" Great reliance will be placed by the enemy on the conster- 
nation they may be able to spread through our ranks, by the 
hideous yells with which they commence their battles ; but 
brave men will laugh at such efforts to alarm them. It is not 
by bellowings and screams, that the wounds of death are in- 
flicted. You wall teach these noisy assailants how weak are 
their weapons of warfare, by opposing them with the bayonet. 



INDIAN CAMPAIGN. 45 

IVhat Indian ever withstood its charge ? what army, of any 
nation, ever withstood it long ? 

" Yes, soldiers, the order for a charge will be the signal for 
victory. In that moment, your enemy will be seen fleeing in 
every direction before you. But in the moment of action, 
coolness and deliberation must be regarded ; your fires made 
with precision and aim ; and when ordered to charge with the 
bayonet, you must proceed to the assault with a quick and fh-m 
step, without trepidation or alarm. Then shall you behold the 
completion of your hopes, in the discomfiture of you enemy. 
Your general, Vv^hose duty, as well as inclination, is to watch 
over your safety, will not, to gratify any wishes of his own, 
urge you unnecessarily into danger. He knows, however, that 
it is not in assailing an enemy, that men are destroyed ; it is 
when retreating, and in confusion. Aware of this, he will be 
prompted as much by a regard for your lives as your honor. 
He laments that he has been compelled, even incidentally, to 
hint at a retreat, when speaking to freemen and to soldiers. 
Never, until you forget all that is due to yourselves and your 
country, will you have any practical understanding of that 
word. Shall an enemy w^holly unacquainted with military 
evolutions, and who rely more for victory on their grim visa- 
ges and hideous yells, than upon their bravery or their weapons ; 
shall such an enemy ever drive before them the w^ell-trained 
youths of our country, whose bosoms pant for glory, and a 
desire to avenge the wrongs they have received .' Your general 
will not live to behold such a spectacle ; rather would he rush 
into the thickest of the enemy, and submit himself to their 
scalping-knives : but he has no fears of such a result. He 
knows the valor of the men he commands ; and now certainly 
that valor, regulated as it will be, will lead to victory. With 
his soldiers, he will face all dangers, and with them participate 
in the glory of conquest." 

Having thus prepared the minds of his men, and brought to 
their view the kind of foe with whom they w^ere shortly to 
contend ; and having also, by his expresses, instructed General 
White to form a junction with him, and to hasten on all the 
supplies in his power to command, with about six day's rations 
of meat, and less than two of meal ; he again put his army in 



46 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON, 

motion to meet the enemy. Although there was some hazard 
in advancing into a country where relief was not to be expect- 
ed, with such limited preparation, yet believing that his con- 
tractors, lately installed, would exert themselves to the utmost 
to forward supplies, and that amid the variety of arrangements 
made, all could not fail ; and well aware that his delaying 
longer might be productive of many disadvantages, his deter- 
mination was taken to set out immediately in quest of the 
enemy. He replied to the Path-killer, by his runners, that he 
should proceed directly for the Coosa, and solicited him to be 
diligent in making discoveries of the situation and collected 
forces of the savages, and give him, as early as possible, the 
result of his inquiries. 

" The hostile Creeks," he remarked to him, " will not attack 
you until they have had a brush with me ; and that, I think, 
will put them out of the notion of fighting for some tune." 

He requested, if he had, or could any how procure, provi- 
sions for his army, that he would send them, or advise where 
they might be had: ■' You shall be well paid, and have my 
thanks into the bargain. I shall stand most in need of corn- 
meal, but shall be thankful for any kind of provisions, and 
indeed for whatever will support life." 

The army had advanced but a short distance, when unex- 
pected embarrassments were again presented. Information was 
received, by which it was clearly ascertained that the present 
contractors, Avho had been so much and so certainly relied on,, 
could not, with all their exertions, procure the necessary sup- 
pHes. Major Rose, in the quarter-master's department, who 
had been sent into Madison county to aid them in their endeav- 
ors, having satisfied himself, as well from their own admissions 
as from evidence derived from other sources, that their want of 
funds, and consequent want of credit, rendered them a very 
unsafe dependence, had returned and disclosed the facts to the 
general. He stated that there were there persons of fortune 
and industry, who might be confided in, and who would be 
willing to contract for the army if it were necessary. Jackson 
lost no time in embracing this plan, and gave the contract to 
Mr. Pope, in whose means and exertions he hoped every 
reliance might be safely reposed. To the other contractors he 



INDIAN CAMPAIGN. 47 

wrote, informing them of the change that had been made, and 
the reasons which had induced it. 

« I am advised," said he, "that you have candidly acknow- 
ledged you have it not in your poAver to execute the contract 
in which you have engaged. Do not think I mean to cast any 
reflection — very far from it. I am exceedingly pleased with 
the exertions you have made, and feel myself under many ob- 
ligations of gratitude for them. The critical situation of aflfairs 
when you entered into the contract being considered, you have 
done all that individuals in your circumstances could have 
performed. But you must be well convinced, that any appro- 
bation 1\"hich may be felt by the commander of an army for 
past services, ought not to become, through kindness to you, 
the occasion of that army's destruction. From the admissions 
you have been candid enough to make, the scarcity which 
already begins to appear in the camp, and the difficulties you 
are likely to encounter in effecting your engagements, I am 
apprehensive I should be doing injustice to the army I com- 
mand, were I to rely for support on your exertions — great as I 
know them to be. Whatever concerns myself, I may manage 
with any generosity or indulgence I please ; but in acting for 
my country, I have no such discretion. I have therefore felt 
myself compelled to give the contract in which you are con- 
cerned to another, who is abundantly able to execute it; on 
condition he indemnifies you for the trouble you have been at." 

This arrangement being made, the army continued its march, 
and having arrived within a few miles of the Ten Islands, was 
met by old Chinnaby, a leading chief of the Creek nation, and 
sternly opposed to the war party. He brought with him, and 
surrendered up, two of the hostile Creeks, who had lately been 
made prisoners by his party. At this place it was represented 
that they were within sixteen miles of the enemy, who were 
collected to the number of a thousand, to oppose their passage. 
This information was little relied on, and afterwards proved 
untrue. Jackson continued his route, and in a few days 
reached the islands of the Coosa, having been detained a day 
on the way for the purpose of obtaining small supplies of corn 
from the neighboring Indians. This acquisition to the scanty 
stock on hand, while it afforded subsistance for the present. 



48 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

encouraged his hopes for the future, as a means of temporary 
resort, should his other resources fail. 

In a letter to Governor Blount from this place, speaking of 
the difficulties with which he was assailed, he ohserves; " in- 
deed, sir, we have heen very wretchedly supplied — scarcely 
two rations in succession have heen regularly drawn ; yet we 
are not despondent. While we can procure an ear of corn 
apiece, or any thing that will answer as a substitute for it, we 
shall continue our exertions to accomplish the object for which 
we were sent. The cheerfulness with which my men submit 
to privations, and are ready to encounter danger, does honor to 
them, and to the Government whose rights they are defending. 

" Every means within my power for procuring the requisite 
supplies for my army, I have taken, and am continuing to take. 
East, west, north and south, have been applied to, with the 
most pressing solicitation. The Governor of Georgia, in a let- 
ter received from him this evening, informs me that a sufficiency 
can be had in his State ; but does not signify that he is about 
to take any measures to procure it JVIy former contractor has 
been superseded : no exertions were spared by liim to fulfill his 
engagements ; yet the inconveniences under which he labored 
were such as to render his best exertions unavailing. The 
contract has been otTered to one who will be able to execute it ; 
if he accepts it, my apprehensions will be greatly diminished." 

On the 28th of October, 1813, Colonel Dyer, who, on the 
march to the Ten Islands, had been detached from the main 
body with two hundred cavalry to attack Littafutchee-town, on 
the head of Canoe creek, which empties into the Coosa from 
the west, returned, bringing w^ith him twenty-nine prisoners — 
men, women, and children — having destroyed the village. 

The sanguine expectations indulged, on leaving Thompson's 
creek, that the advance of the East Tennessee militia would 
hasten to unite with him, was not yet realized. The express 
heretofore directed to General White, had not returned. Jack- 
son, on the 31st of October, 1813, despatched another, again 
urging him to effect a speedy junction, and to bring with him 
all the bread-stuff it should be in his power to procure ; feel- 
ingly suggesting to liim, at the same time, the great inconven- 
ience and hazard to which he had been already exposed, for 



INDIAN CAMPAIGN. 49 

the want of punctuality in himself and his commanding general. 
Owing to that cause, and the late failures of his contractors, he 
represented his army as placed, at present, in a very precarious 
situation, and dependent in a great mieasure for support on the 
exertions which they might he pleased to make ; but assured 
him at the same time, that, let circimistances transpire as they 
might, he would still, at every risk, endeavor to effect his pur- 
pose ; and, at all events, was resolved to hasten with every 
practicable despatch to the accomplishment of the object for 
which he had set out. Believing the co-operation of the East 
Tennessee troops essential to this end, they were again in- 
structed to join him without delay; for he could not conceive 
it to be correct policy, that troops from the same State, pursu- 
ing the same object, should constitute separate and distinct 
armies, and act without concert, and independently of each 
other. He entertained no doubt but that his order would be 
promptly obeyed. 

The next evening a detachment, which had been sent out 
the day before, returned to the camp, bringing with them, be- 
sides some corn and beeves, several negroes and prisoners of 
the war party. 

Learning now that a considerable body of the enemy had 
posted themselves at Tallushatchee, on the south side of the 
Coosa, about thirteen miles distant. General Coffee was detached 
with nine hundred men (the mounted troops having been pre- 
viously organized into a brigade, and placed under his com- 
mand) to attack and disperse them. With this force he was 
enabled, through the direction of an Indian pilot, to ford the 
Coosa at the Fish-dams, about four miles above the Islands ; 
and, having encamped beyond it, very early the next morning 
proceeded to the execution of his order. Having arrived with- 
in a mile and a half, he formed his detachment into two 
divisions, and directed them to march so as to encircle the 
town, by uniting their fronts beyond it. The enemy, hearing 
of his approach, began to prepare for action, which was an- 
nounced by the beatiiitg of drums, mingled with their savage 
yells 'an4 war-whoops. An hour after sunrise, the action was 
commenced by Captain Hammond's and Lieutenant Patterson's 
companies of spies, who had gone w^ithin the circle of align- 
4 



50 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

ment for the purpose of drawing the Indians from their build- 
ings. No sooner had these companies exhibited their front in 
view of the town,, and given a few scattering shots, than the 
enemy formed, and made a violent charge. Being compelled 
to give way, the advance-guard were pursued until they reached 
the main body of the army, which immediately opened a gen- 
eral fire, and charged in their turn. The Indians retreated, 
firing, until they got around and in their buildings, where an 
obstinate conflict ensued, and where those who maintained their 
ground persisted in fighting as long as they could stand or sit, 
without manifesting fear or soliciting quarter. Their loss was 
a hundred and eighty-six killed ; among whom were, unfortu- 
nately, and through accident, a few women and children. 
Eighty-four women and children were taken prisoners, towards 
whom the utmost humanity was shown. Of the Americans, 
five were killed and forty-one wounded. Two were killed 
with arrows, which on this occasion formed a principal part of 
the arms of the Indians ; each one having a bow and quiver, 
which he used after the first fire of his gun, until an opportu- 
nity occurred for reloading. 

Having buried his dead and provided for his wounded, Gen- 
eral Cofifee, late in the evening of the same day, united with 
the main army, bringing with him about forty prisoners. Of 
the residue, a part vrere too badly wounded to be removed, and 
were therefore left, with a sufficient number to take care of 
them. Those which he brought in, received every comfort 
and assistance their situation demanded, and, for safety, were 
immediately sent into the settlements. 

From the manner in which the enemy fought, the killing 
and wounding others than their warriors was not to be avoided. 
On their retreat to their village, after the commencement of the 
battle, they resorted to their block-houses and strong lo^- 
dwellings, whence they kept up resistance, and resolutely 
maintained the fight. Thus mingled v/ith their women and 
children, it v/as impossible they should not be exposed to the 
general danger ; and thus many were injured, notwithstanding 
every possible precaution was taken to prevent it. In fact, 
many of the women united with their warriors, and contended 
in the battle with fearless bravery. 



INDIAN CAMPAIGN. 51 

Measures were now taken to establish a permanent depot on 
the north bank of the river, at the Ten Islands, to be protected 
by strong picketing and block-houses ; after which, it was the 
intention of Jackson to proceed along the Coosa to its junction 
with the Tallapoosa, near which it was expected the main 
force of the enemy was collected. Well knowing that it 
would detach much of the strength of his army to occupy, in 
his advance, the different points necessary to the safety of his 
rear, it was desirable to unite, as soon as possible, with the 
troops from the east of Tennessee. To effect this, he again, 
on the 4th, despatched an express to General White, who had 
previously, with his command, arrived at Turkey-town, a 
Cherokee village about twenty-five miles above, on the same 
river, urging him to unite with him as soon as possible, and 
again entreating him on the subject of provisions ; to bring 
with him such as he had on hand, or could procure ; and, if 
possible, to form some certain arrangement that might ensure 
a supply in future. 

Anxious to proceed, and to have his army actively and ser- 
viceably employed, which he believed would be practicable 
as soon as a junction could be effected, he again, on the morn- 
ing of 7th of November, 1813, renewed his application to 
General White, who still remained at Turkey-town. 

As yet, no certain intelligence was received of any collec- 
tion of the enemy. The army was busily engaged in fortifying 
and strengthening the site fixed on for a depot, to which the 
name of Fort Strother had been given. Late, however, on 
the evening of the 7th November, a runner arrived from Tal- 
ladega, a fort of the friendly Indians, distp^nt about thirty 
miles below, with information that the enemy had that morn- 
ing encamped before it in great numbers, and would certainly 
destroy it unless immediate assistance could be afforded. 
Jackson, confiding in the statement, determined to lose no 
time in extending the relief which was solicited. Under- 
standing that General White, agreeably to his order, was on 
his way to join him, he despatched a messenger to meet him, 
directing him to reach his encampment in the course of the 
ensuing night, and to protect it in his absence. He now gave 
orders for taking up the line of march, with twelve hundred 



52 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

infantry, and eight hundred cavalry and mounted gun men ; 
leaving behind the sick, the wounded, and all his baggage, 
with a force which was deemed sufficient for their protection, 
until the reinforcement from Turkey-town should arrive. 

The friendly Indians, who had taken refuge in this beseiged 
aort, had involved themselves in their present perilous situa- 
tion from a disposition to preserve their amicable relations 
with the United States. To suffer them to fall a sacrifice from 
any tardiness of movement, would have been unpardonable ; 
and unless relief should be immediately extended, it might arrive 
too late. Acting under these impressions, the general con- 
cluded to move instantly forward to their assistance. By 
twelve o'clock at night, every thing was in readiness ; and in. 
an hour afterward the army commenced crossing the river, 
about a mile above the camp, each of the mounted men car- 
rying one of the infantry behind him. The river at this place 
was six hundred )'ards wide, and it being necessary to send 
back the horses for the remainder of the infantry, several 
hours were consumed before a passage of all the troops could 
be effected. Nevertheless, though greatly fatigued and de- 
prived of sleep, they continued the march with animation, 
and by evening had arrived within six miles of the enemy. 
In this march, Jackson used the utmost precaution to prevent 
surprise : marching his army, as was his constant custom, in 
three columns, so that, by a speedy maneuver, they might be 
thrown into such a situation as to be capable of resisting an 
attack from any quarter. Having judiciously encamped his 
men on an eligible piece of ground, he sent forward two of 
the friendly Indians and a white man, who had for many 
years been detained a captive in the nation, and was now 
acting as interpreter, to reconnoitre the position of the enemy. 
About eleven o'clock at night they returned, with information 
that the savages were posted within a quarter of a mile of 
the fort, and appeared to be in great force ; but that they had 
not been able to approach near enough to ascertain either 
their numbers or precise situation. Within an hour after this 
a runner arrived from Turkey-town, with a letter from Gen- 
eral White, stating that after having taken up the line of 
march, to unite at Fort Strother, he had received orders from 



INDIAN CAMPAIGN. 53 

General Cocke to change his course, and proceed to the mouth 
of Chatauga creek. It was most distressing intelligence : the 
sick and wounded had been left with no other calculation for 
their safety and defense than that this detachment of the army, 
agreeably to his request, would, by advancing upon Fort 
Strother, serve the double purpose of protecting his rear and 
enable him to advance still further into the enemy's country. 
The information w^hich was now received proved that all 
those salutary anticipations were at an end, and that evils of 
the worst kind might be the consequence. Intelligence so 
disagreeable, and withal so unexpected, filled the mind of 
Jackson with apprehension of a serious and alarming char- 
acter ; and dreading lest the enemy, by taking a different 
route, should attack his encampment in his absence, he deter- 
mined to lose no time in bringing him to battle. Orders were 
accordingly given to the adjutant-general to prepare the line, 
and by four o'clock in the morning the army was again in. 
motion. The infantry proceeded in three columns ; the cav- 
alry in the same order, in the rear, with flankers on each 
wing. The advance, consisting of a company of artillerists 
with muskets, two companies of riflemen, and one of spies, 
marched about four hundred 3^ards in front, under the com- 
mand of Colonel Carroll, inspector-general, with orders, after 
commencing the action, to fall back on the centre, so as to 
draw the enemy after them. At seven o'clock, having arrived 
within a mile of the position they occupied, the columns were 
displayed in order of battle. Two hundred and fifty of the 
cavalry, under Lieutenant-colonel Dyer, were placed in the 
rear of the centre, as a corps-de-reserve. The remainder of 
the mounted troops were directed to advance on the right and 
left, and, after encircling the enemy, by uniting the fronts of 
their columns, and keeping their rear rested on the infantry, 
to face and press towards the centre, so as to leave them no 
possibility of escape. The remaining part of the army was 
ordered to move up by heads of companies ; General Hall's 
brigade occupying the right, and General Roberts' the left. 

About eight o'clock, the advance, having arrived within eighty 
yards of the enemy, who were concealed in a thick shrubbery 
that covered the margin of a small rivulet, received a heavy 



54 I-IFE OF ANDREW JACKSON, 

fire, which they instantly returned with much spirit. Falling 
in with the enemy, agreeably to their instructions, they retired 
towards the centre, but not before they had dislodged them from 
their position. The Indians, now screaming and yelling hide- 
ously, mshed forward in the direction of General Roberts' bri- 
gade, a few companies of which, alarmed by. their numbers 
and yells, gave way at the first fire. Jackson, to fill the chasm 
which was thus created, directed the regiment commanded by 
Colonel Bradley to be moved up, which, from some unaccount- 
able cause, had failed to advance in a hue with the others, and 
now occupied a position in rear of the centre. Bradley, how- 
ever, to whom this order was given by one of the staff, omitted 
to execute it in time, alleging he was determined to remain on 
the eminence which he then possessed, until he should be ap- 
proached and attacked by the enemy. Owing to this failure in 
the volunteer regiment, it became necessary to dismount the 
reserve, which, with great firmness, met the approach of the 
enemy, who were rapidly moving in this direction. The re- 
treating militia, somewhat mortified at seeing their places so 
promptly supplied, rallied, and recovering their former position, 
in the line, aided in checking the advance of the savages. The 
action now became general along the line, and in fifteen min- 
utes the Indians were seen flying in every direction. On the 
left they were met and repulsed by the mounted riflemen ; but 
on the right, owing to the halt of Bradley's regiment, which 
was intended to occupy the extrem.e right, and to the circum- 
stance of Colonel Allcorn, who commanded one of the wings 
of the cavalry, having taken too large a circuit, a considerable 
space was left between the infantry and the cavalry, through 
which numbers escaped. The fight was maintained with great 
spirit and effect on both sides, as well before as after the re- 
treat commenced ; nor did the pursuit and slaughter terminate 
until the mountains were reached, at the distance of three miles. 
Jackson, in his report of this action, bestows high commen- 
dation on the oflicers and soldiers. " Too much praise," he 
observes in the close of it, " cannot be bestowed on the advance 
led by Colonel Carroll, for the spirited manner in which they 
commenced and sustained the attack; nor upon the reserve, 
commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Dyer, for the gallantry with 



INDIAN CAMPAIGN. 55 

which they met and repulsed the enemy. In a word, officers of 
every grade, as well as privates, realized the high expectations 
I had formed of them, and merit the gratitude of their country." 

In this battle, the force of the enemy was one thousand and 
eighty, of whom two hundred and ninety-nine were left dead 
on the ground; and it is believed that many were killed in the 
flight, who were not found when the estimate was made. Pro- 
bably few escaped unhurt. Their loss on this occasion, as 
stated since by themselves, was not less than six hundred : 
that of the Americans was fifteen killed, and eighty wounded, 
several of whom afterward died. Jackson, after collecting 
his dead and wounded, advanced his army beyond the fort, 
and encamped for the night. The Indians who had been for 
several days shut up by the besiegers, thus fortunately libe- 
rated from the most dreadful apprehensions and severest pri- 
vations, having for some days been entirely without water, 
received the army with all the demonstrations of gratitude 
that savages could give. Their manifestations of joy for their 
deliverance, presented an interesting and affecting spectacle. 
Their fears had been already greatly excited, for it was the 
very day when they were to have been assaulted, and when 
every soul within the fort must have perished. All the pro- 
visions they could spare from their scanty stock they sold to 
the general, who, purchasing with his own money, distributed 
them among the soldiers, who were almost destitute. 

It was with great regret that Jackson now found he was 
vv'ithout the means of availing himself fully of the advanta- 
ges of his victory ; but the condition of his posts in the rear, 
and the want of provisions, (having left his encampment at 
Fort Strother with little more than one day's rations), compel- 
led him to return ; thus giving the enemy time to recover 
from the consternation of their first defeat, and to re-assemble 
their forces. 

The cause which prevented General White from acting in 
obedience to his order, and arriving at the Ten Islands at a 
moment when it was so important, and when it was so confi- 
dently expected, was as yet unknown ; the only certainty up- 
on the subject was, that for the present it wholly thwarted 
his views, and laid him under the necessity of returning. 



56 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

This mystery, hitherto inexplicable, was some time after ex- 
plained, by a view of the order of General Cocke, under which 
White, being a brigadier in his division, chose to act, rather 
than under Jackson's. General Cocke stated to him, he had 
understood Jackson had crossed the Coosa, and had an en- 
gagement with the Indians. " I have formed a council of 
officers here, and proposed these questions: Shall we follow 
him ? or cross the river, and proceed to the Creek settlements 
on the Tallapoosa ? Both were decided unanimously, that he 
should not be followed, but that we should proceed in the way 
proposed." He remarked, that the decision had met his en- 
tire approbation ; and directed White forthwith to unite with 
him at his encampment, where he should wait, fortifying it 
strongly for a depot until he should arrive. " If," said he, 
"we follow General Jackson and his army, we must suffer for 
supplies; nor can we expect to gain a victory. Let us then 
take a direction in which we can share some of the dangers 
and glories of the field. You will employ pilots, and advise . 
me which side of the river you will move up." In this, as 
in every other measure, it seemed to be the studied aim of 
Cocke to thwart the views and arrest the successes of Jack- 
son ; and perhaps jealousy, in no inconsiderable degree, was 
the moving spring to his conduct. Both were major-generals 
from the state of Tennessee, sent on the same important er- 
rand, to check an insolent foe, who had practised the most 
cruel and unprovoked outrages. Which of them should share 
the "dangers and glories of the field," or obtain its laurels, 
was not so important to the country, as by acting in concert 
and harmony, endeavoring to accomplish the grand object of 
terminating the war, and restoring tranquility to the frontiers. 
National, and not individual advancement, was the object in 
carrying an army into the field ; and the best and most effect- 
ual means of securing this, every officer, acting on liberal 
principles, should have constantly held in view : the interest 
and repose of the country, not their individual advancement, 
was the end to be attained. 

Having buried his dead with ail due honor, and provided 
litters for the wounded, he reluctantly commenced his return 
march on the morning succeeding the battle. He confidently 



INDIAN CAMPAIGN. 57 

hoped, from the previous assurances of the contractors, that 
hy the time of his return to Fort Strother, sufficient supplies 
would have arrived there ; but, to his unexpressible uneasi- 
ness, he found that not a particle had been forwarded there 
since his departure, and that what had been left was already 
consumed. Even his private stores, brought on at his own 
expense, and upon which he and his staff had hitherto whol- 
ly subsisted, had been in his absence distributed among the 
sick by the hospital surgeon, who had been previously in- 
structed to do so if their wants shoiild require it. A few 
dozen biscuits, which remained on his return, were given to 
hungry applicants, without being tasted by himself or family, 
who were probably not less hungry than those who were thus 
relieved. A scanty supply of indifferent beef, taken from the 
enemy or purchased of the Cherokees, was now the only sup- 
port afforded. Thus left destitute, Jackson, with the utmost 
cheerfulness of temper, repaired to the bullock pen, and of 
the offal there thrown away, provided for himself and staif 
what he was pleased to call, and seemed really to think, a 
very comfortable repast. Tripes, however, hastily provided 
in a camp, without bread or seasoning, can only be palatable 
to an appetite very highly whetted. Yet this constituted for 
several days the only diet at head quarters, during which time 
the general seemed entirely satisfied with his fare. Neither 
this nor the liberal donations by which he disfurnished him- 
self to relieve the suffering soldier, deserves to be ascribed to 
ostentation or design : the one flow^ed from benevolence, the 
other from necessity, and a desire to place before his men an 
example of patience and suffering, which he felt might be ne- 
cessary, and hoped might be serviceable. Of these two impu- 
tations no human being, invested with rank and power, was 
ever more deservedly free. Charity in him is a warm and 
active propensity of the heart, urging him, by an instantane- 
ous impulse, to relieve the wants of the distressed, without 
regarding, or even thinking of the consequences. Many of 
those to whom it was extended had no conception of the 
source that supplied them, and believed the comforts they re- 
ceived were, indeed, drawn from stores provided for the hos- 
pital department. 



58 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

But while General Jackson remained wholly unmoved by 
his own privations, he was filled with solicitude and concern 
for his army. His utmost exertions, unceasingly applied, 
were insufficient to remove the sufferings to which he saw 
them exposed ; and although they were by no means so great 
as were represented, yet were they undoubtedly such as to be 
sensibly and severely felt. Discontents, and a desire to re- 
turn home, arose, and presently spread through the camp ; 
and these were still further imbittered and augmented by the 
arts of a few designing officers, who, believing that the cam- 
paign Avould break up, hoped to make themselves popular on 
the .return, by encouraging and taking part in the complaints 
of the soldiery. It is a singular fact, that those officers who 
pretended on this occasion to feel most sensibly for the wants 
of the army, and who contrived most effectually to instigate 
it to revolt, had never themselves been without provisions ; 
and were, at that very moment, enjoying in abundance what 
would have relieved the distresses of many, had it been as 
generously and freely distributed as were their words of ad- 
vice and condolence. 

During this period of scarcity and discontent, small quanti- 
ties of supplies were occasionally forwarded by the contrac- 
tors, but not a sufficiency for present want, and still less to 
remove the apprehensions that were entertained for the future. 
At length, revolt began to show itself openly. The officers 
and soldiers of the militia, collecting in their tents and talking 
over their grievances, determined to yield up their patriotism 
and to abandon the camp. To this measure there were good 
evidences for believing that several of the officers of the old 
volunteer corps exerted themselves clandestinely, and with 
great industry, to instigate them ; looking upon themselves 
somewhat in the light of veterans, from the discipline they 
had acquired in the expedition to the lower country, they were 
unwilling to be seen foremost in setting an example of muti- 
ny, and wished to make the defection of others a pretext for 
their own. 

Jackson, apprized of their determination to abandon him, 
resolved to oppose it, and at all hazard to prevent a departure. 
In the morning, when they were to carry their intentions into 



INDIAN CAMPAIGN. 59 

execution, he drew up the volunteers in front of them, with 
positive commands to prevent their progress, and compel 
them to return to their former position in the camp. The 
militia, seeing this, and fearing the consequences of persisting 
in their purpose, at once abandoned it, and returned to their 
quarters without further murmuring, extolling, in the highest 
terms, the unalterable firmness of the general. 

The next day, however, presented a singular scene. The 
volunteers, who the day before had been the instruments for 
compelling the militia to return to their duty, seeing the de- 
struction of those hopes on which they had lately built in turn 
began themselves to mutiny. Their opposition to the depart- 
ure of the militia was but a mere pretence to escape suspicion, 
for they silently wished them success. They now determined 
to move off in a body, believing, from the known disaffection 
in the camp, that the general could find no means to prevent 
it. What was their surprise, however, when, on attempting 
to effectuate their resolves, they found the same men whom 
they had so lately opposed, occupying the very position which 
they had done the day previous for a similar purpose, and 
manifesting a fixed determination to obey the orders of their 
general ! All they ventured to do was to take the example 
through ; and, like them, move back in peace and quietness to 
their quarters. 

This was a curious change of circumstances, when we con- 
sider in how short a time it happened ; but the conduct of the 
militia, on this occasion, must be ascribed to the ingenuity 
and management of the general, and in the gratification they 
felt in being able to defeat the views of those who had so late- 
ly thwarted their own. To this may be also added the con- 
sciousness all must have entertained, that the privations of 
which they complained were far less grievous than they had 
represented them ; by no means sufficient to justify revolt, and 
not greater than patriots might be expected to bear without a 
murmur, when objects of such high consideration ^vere before 
Ihem. But, anxious to return to their families and kindred, 
wearied of their difficulties and sufferings, and desirous to re- 
count the brilliant exploits of their first battle, they seized with 
eagerness every pretext for exoneration, and listened with too 



60 I^IFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

much docility to the representations of those who were influ- 
enced by less honorable feelings. Having many domestic 
considerations to attend to, — the first ebullition of resentment 
being cooled, and the first impulse of curiosity gratified, there 
were no motives to retain them in the field, but a remaining 
sense of honor, and a fear of disgrace and punishment, should 
they abandon their post without a cause. But although these 
motives were sufficient for the present, those who were gov- 
erned by them did not cease to wish that a more plausible 
apology might offer for dispensing with their operation. The 
mihtia co;itinued to show a much more obedient and patriotic 
disposition than the volunteers ; who, having adopted a course 
which they discovered must finally involve them in dishonor, 
if it should fail, were exceedingly anxious for its success, and 
that it might have the appearance of being founded on justice. 
On this subject the pretensions of the cavalry w^ere certainly 
much better established ; as they were entirely without forage, 
and without the prospect of speedily obtaining any. They 
petitioned, therefore, to be permitted to return into the settled 
parts of the country, pledging themselves, by their platoon 
and field officers, that if sufficient time were allowed to recruit 
the exhausted state of their horses, and to procure their win- 
ter clothing, they w^ould return to the performance of their 
duty whenever called on. The general, unable from many 
causes to prosecute the campaign, and confiding in the assur- 
ance given, granted the prayer of their petition, and they im- 
mediately set out on their return. 

About this time, General Jackson's prospect of being able 
to maintain the conquests he had made, began to be cheered 
by letters just received from the contractors and principal 
wagon-master, stating that sufficient supplies for the army 
were then on the road, and would shortly arrive ; but discon- 
tents, to an alarming degree, still prevailed in his camp. To 
allay them, if possible, he hastened to lay before the division 
the information and letters he had received ; and, at the same 
time, invited the field and platoon officers to his quarters, to 
consult on the measures proper to be pursued. Having assem- 
bled them, and well knowing that the flame of discontent, 
wiiich had so lately shown itself, was only for the present 



INDIAN CAMPAIGN. 61 

smothered, and might yet burst forth in serious injury, he ad- 
dressed them in an animated speech, in which he extolled 
their patriotism and achievements ; lamented the privations to 
which they had been exposed, and endeavored to reanimate 
them by the prospect of speedy relief, which he expected with 
confidence on the following day. He spoke of the immense 
importance of the conquests they had already made, and of 
the dreadful consequences that must result, should they be 
noAv abandoned. " What," continued he, " is the present sit- 
uation of our camp ? A number of our fellow-soldiers are 
wounded, and unable to help themselves. Shall it be said 
that we are so lost to humanity as to leave them in this con- 
dition ? Can any one, under these circumstances, and under 
these prospects, consent to an abandonment of the camp ? — of 
all that we have acquired in the midst of so many difficulties, 
privations, and dangers — of what it will cost us so much to 
regain — of what we never can regain, — our brave wounded 
companions, who will be murdered by our unthinking, unfeel- 
ing inhumanity ? Surely, there can be none such ! No : we 
will take with us, when we go, our wounded and sick. They 
must not — shall not perish by our cold-blooded indifference. 
But why should you despond ? I do not, and yet your wants 
are not greater than mine. To be sure we do not live sumptu- 
ously : but no one has died of hunger, or is likely to die ; and 
then how animating are our prospects ! Large supplies are at 
Deposit, and already are officers despatched to hasten them on. 
Wagons are on the way ; a large number of beeves are in the 
neighborhood; and detachments are out to bring them in. All 
these resources surely cannot fail. I have no wish to starve 
you — none to deceive you. Stay contentedly ; and if supplies 
do not arrive within two day?;, we will all march back together, 
and throw the blame of our failure where it should properly 
lie: until then we certainly have the means of subsisting; and 
if we are compelled to bear privations, let us remember that 
they are borne for our country, and are not greater than many 
— perhaps most armies have been compelled to endure. I 
have called you tegether to tell you my feelings and my 
wishes; this evening think on them seriously, and let me 
know yours in the morning." 



62 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

Having retired to their tents, and deliberated on the meas- 
ures most proper to be adopted in this emergency, the officers 
of the volunteer brigade came to the conclusion that " nothing 
short of Hiarching the army immediately back to the settle- 
ments, could prevent those difficulties and that disgrace which 
must attend a forcible desertion of the camp by his soldiers." 
The officers of the militia determined differently, and reported 
a willingness to maintain the post a few days longer, that it 
might be ascertained whether or not, a sufficiency of provis- 
ions could really be had. " If it can, let us proceed with the 
campaign ; if not, let us be marched back to where it can be 
procured." The General, who greatly preferred the latter 
opinion, nevertheless, to allay excitement, was disposed to 
gratify those who appeared unwilling to submit to further 
hardships; and with this view ordered General Hall to march 
his brigade to Fort Deposit ; and, after satisfying their wants, 
to return, and act as an escort to the provisions. The second 
regiment, however, unwilling to be outdone by the militia, 
consented to remain ; and the first proceeded alone. On this 
occasi©n he could not forbear to remark, that men for whom 
he had ever cherished so warm an affection, and for whom he 
would at all times have made any sacrifice, desiring to aban- 
don him at a moment Avhen their presence was so particularly 
necessary, filled him with emotions which the strongest lan- 
guage was too feeble to express. " I was prepared," he con- 
tinued, " to endure every evil but disgrace ; and this, as I 
never can submit to myself, I can give no encouragement to 
in others." 

Two days had ekpsed since the departure of the volun- 
teers, and supplies had not arrived. The militia, with great 
earnestness, now demanded a performance of the pledge that 
had been given — that they should be marched back to the set- 
tlements. Jackson, on giving them an assurance that they 
should return, if relief did not reach them in two days, had 
indulged a confidence that it would certainly arrive by that 
time ; and now, from the information he had received, felt 
more than ever certain, that it could not be far distant. Hav- 
ing, however, pledged himself, he could use no arguments or 
entreaties to detain them any longer, and immediately took 



INDIAN CAMPAIGN. 63 

measures for complying witli their wishes and the promise he 
had made them. This was to him a moment of the deepest 
dejection. He foresaw how difficult it Avould be ever to ac- 
complish the object upon which his heart w^as so devoutly 
fixed, should he lose the men who w^ere now with him ; or 
even to regain the conquests he had made, if his present posts 
should fall into the hands of the enemy. While thus ponde- 
ring on the gloomy prospect, he lifted up his hands and ex- 
claimed, with a look and manner which showed how much he 
felt, " If only two men will remain with me, I will never 
abandon this post." Captain Gordon, of the spies, facetiously 
replied, " You have one, general, let us look if we can't find 
another ;" and immediately, with a zeal suited to the occasion, 
undertook, with some of the general staff, to raise volunteers ; 
and in a little while succeeded in procuring one hundred and 
nine, who declared a determination to remain and protect the 
post. The general, greatly rejoiced that he would not be 
compelled to an entire abandonment of his position, nov/ set 
out towards Deposit w^ith the remainder of the army, who 
were given distinctly to understand, that on meeting supplies, 
they w^ere to return and prosecute the campaign. This was 
an event which, as it had been expected and foretold, soon 
took place. They had not proceeded more than ten or twelve 
miles, when they met a hundred and fifty beeves ; but a sight 
v.'hich gave to Jackson so much satisfaction, was to them the 
most disagreeable and unwelcome. Their faces being now 
turned towards home, no spectacle could be more hateful than 
one which was to change their destination. They w^ere halt- 
ed; and having satisfied their hungry appetites, the troops, 
w^th the exception of such as were necessary to proceed w^ith 
the sick and wounded, were ordered to return to the encamp- 
ment — he himself intending to see the contractors, and estab- 
lish more effectual arrangements for the future. So great was 
their aversion to returning, that they preferred a violation of 
their duty and their pledged honor. Low murmurings ran 
along the lines, and presently broke out into open mutiny. In 
spite of the order they had received, they began to revolt, and 
one company was already moving olT in a direction towards 
home. They had proceeded some distance before information 



64 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

of their departure was had by Jackson. Irritated at their con- 
duct, in attempting to violate the promise they had given, and 
knowing that the success of future operations depended on the 
result, the general pursued, until he came near a part of his 
staff and a few soldiers, who, with General Coffee, had halted 
about a quarter of a mile ahead. He ordered them to form 
immediately across the road, and to fire on the mutineers if 
they attempted to proceed. Snatching up their arms, these 
faithful adherents presented a front which threw the d eserters 
into affright, and caused them to retreat precipitately to the 
main body. Here it was hoped the matter would end, and 
that no further opposition would be made to returning. 

This expectation was not realized ; a mutinous temper be- 
gan presently to display itself throughout the whole brigade. 
Jackson, having left his aid-de-camp, Major Reid, engaged in. 
making up some despatches, had gone out alone among his 
troops, who were at some distance : on his arrival, he found 
a much more extensive mutiny than that which had just been 
quelled. Almost the whole brigade had put itself into an at- 
titude for moving forcibly off. A crisis had arrived ; and, 
feeling its importance, he determined to take no middle ground, 
but to triumph or perish. He was still without the use of his 
left arm, but, seizing a musket, and resting it on the neck of 
his horse, he threw himself in front of the column, and threat- 
ened to shoot the first man who should attempt to advance. 
In this situation he was found by JMajor Reid and General 
Coffee ; who, fearing, from the length of his absence, that 
some disturbance had arisen, hastened where he was, and, pla- 
cing themselves by his side, awaited the result in anxious ex- 
pectation. 

For many minutes the column preserved a sullen, yet hesi- 
tating attitude, fearing to proceed in their purpose, and dis- 
liking to abandon it. In the mean time, those who remained 
faithful to their duty, amounting to about two companies, 
were collected and formed at a short distance in advance of 
the troops and in rear of the general, with positive directions 
to imitate his example in firing, if they attempted to proceed. 
At length, finding no one bold enough to advance, and over- 
taken by those fears which in the hour of peril always beset 



INDIAN CAMPAIGN. 65 

persons engaged in what they know to he a bad cause, they 
abandoned their purpose, and turning quietly round, agreed to 
return to their posts. It is very certain, that but for the firm- 
ness of the general at this critical moment, the campaign 
Avould have been broken up, and most probably not com- 
menced again. 

Shortly after the battle of Talladega, the Hillabee tribes, 
who had been the principal sufferers on that occasion, applied 
to General Jackson for peace ; declaring their willingness to 
receive it on such terms as he might be pleased to dictate. 
His decision had been already returned, stating to them that 
his government had taken uj3 arms to bring to a proper sense 
of duty a people to whom she had ever shown the utmost 
kindness, but who, nevertheless, had committed against her 
citizens the most unprovoked depredations ; and that she 
would lay them down only when certain that this object was 
attained. " Upon those," continued he, " w^ho are friendly, 
I neither wish nor intend to make war ; but they must afford 
evidences of the sincerity of their professions ; the prisoners 
and property they have taken from us and the friendly Creeks, 
must be restored ; the instigators of the w\ar, and the murder- 
ers of our citizens, must be surrendered ; the latter must and 
will be made to feel the force of our resentment. Long shall 
they remember Fort Mimms, in bitterness and tears." 

Having stated to General Cocke, whose division was acting 
in this section of the nation, the propositions that had been 
made by the Hilkibee tribes, with the answer he returned, and 
urged him to detach to Fort Strother six hundred of his men 
to aid in the defense of that place during his absence, and in 
the operations he intended to resume on his return, he pro- 
ceeded to Deposit and Ditto's Landing, where the most effect- 
ual means in his power were taken with the contractors for 
obtaining regular supplies in future. They w^ere required to 
furnish immediately thirty days' rations at Fort Strother, forty 
at Talladega, and as many at the junction of the Coosa and 
Tallapoosa ; two hundred packhorses and forty wagons were 
put in requisition to facilitate their transportation. Under- 
standing now that the whole detachment from Tennessee had, 
by the President, been received into the service of the L^nited 
5 



66 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON, 

States, he persuaded himself that the difficulties he had here- 
tofore encountered would not recur, and that the want of 
supplies would not again be a cause of impeding his opera- 
tions. He now looked forward, with sanguine expectations^ 
to the speedy accomplishment of the objects of the expedi- 
tion. 

The volunteers who w^ere at Deposit, began to manifest the. 
same unv/illingness to return to their duty that the militia had 
done, and were about to break out into the same spirit of 
mutiny and revolt ; but were restrained by an animated address 
of the general, who, having assembled them together, painted 
in the most glowing colors all the consequences that were to 
be apprehended, if, from any defalcation of theirs, the cam- 
paign should be abandoned, or inefiectually prosecuted. By 
this means, he succeeded once more in restoring quietness to 
his troops. 

He now set out on his return to Fort Strother, and was 
delighted to find, by the progress of the works, the industry 
that had been used in his absence. But the satisfaction he 
felt, and the hopes he began to cherish, were of short continu- 
ance. Although he had succeeded in stilling the tumult of the 
volunteers, and in prevailing on them to return to their posts, 
it was soon discovered he had not eradicated their deep-rooted 
aversion to a further prosecution of the war. Nothing is more 
difficult than to reanimate men who have once lost their spirits, 
or inspire with new ardor those in whom it has lately become 
extinct. Even where the evils which produced the change are 
removed, apologies will be sought, and pretexts seized, for jus- 
tifying and preserving the present tone of mind. The volun- 
teers, who had so lately clamored about bread, now, when they 
were no longer hungry, began to clamor with equal earnest- 
ness about their term of service. Having lately made an effort 
to forsake the drudgery of the field, and failed, they were dis- 
posed to avail themselves of any pretexts, seemingly plausible, 
to obtain success. They insisted that the period for which 
they had undertaken to act, would end on the 1 0th of Decem- 
ber — that being the termination of a year from the day they 
had first entered into service ; and although they had been a 
great part of the time disengaged, and unemployed, that recess 



INDIAN CAMPAIGN. 67 

was nevertheless to be taken into the computation. Jackson 
replied, that the law of Congress under which they had been 
tendered and accepted, requiring one year's service out of two, 
could contemplate nothing less than an actual service of three 
hundred and sixty-five days ; and, until that were performed, 
he could not, unless specially authorized, undertake to dis- 
charge them. But as this M'as a question not likely to be 
settled by argument, and as the consequences were easily to be 
foreseen if they should persist in their demands, the general 
began to think of providing other means for a continuance of 
the campaign, that, even in the worst extreme, he might not 
be unprepared to act. Ordering General Roberts to return and 
hll up the deficiencies in his brigade, he now despatched Col- 
onel Carroll, and Major Searcy, one of his aids-de-camp, into 
Tennessee, to raise volunteers for six months, or during the 
campaign : writing at the same time to many respectable char- 
acters, he exhorted them to contribute all their assistance to 
the accomplishment of this object. To a letter just received 
from the Reverend Gideon Blackburn, assuring him that vol- 
unteers from Tennessee would eagerly hasten to his relief, if 
they knew their services were wanted, he replied: 

" Reverend Sir — Your letter has been just received : I thank 
you for it; I thank you most sincerely. It arrived at a mo- 
ment when my spirits needed such a support. I left Tennessee 
with an army, brave, I believe, as any general ever commanded. 
I have seen them in battle, and my opinion of their bravery is 
not changed. But their fortitude — on this too I relied — has 
been too severely tested. Perhaps I was wrong in believing 
that nothing but death could conquer the spirits of brave men. 
I am sure I was ; for my men I know are brave, yet privations 
have rendered them discontented — that is enough. The expe- 
dition must nevertheless be prosecuted to a successful termina- 
tion. New volunteers must be raised to conclude, what has 
been so auspiciously begun by the old ones. Gladly would I 
save these men from themselves, and insure them a harvest 
which they have sown ; but if they will abandon it to others, 
it must be so. 

«' You are good enough to say, if I need your assistance, it 
will be cheerfully afforded. I do greatly need it. The influ- 



68 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

ence you possess over the minds of men is great and well- 
founded, and can never be better applied than in summoning 
volunteers to the defense of their country, their liberty, and 
their religion. While we fight the savage, who makes war 
only because he delights in blood, and w^ho has gotten his 
booty when he has scalped his victim ; we are, through him, 
contending against an enemy of more inveterate character, and 
deeper design — who would demolish a fabric cemented by the 
blood of our fathers, and endeared to us by all the happiness 
we enjoy. So far as my exertions can contribute, the purpo- 
■ses both of the savage and his instigator shall be defeated; 
:and so far as yours can, I hope — I know they will be employed. 
I have said enough. — I want men, and want them imme- 
diately." 

Anxious to prosecute the campaign as soOn as possible, that 
by employing his troops actively he might dispel from their 
minds those discontents so frequently manifested, he wrote to 
General Cocke, desiring and urging him to unite with him 
immediately at the Ten Islands, with fifteen hundred men. 
He assured him that the mounted men, who had returned to 
the settlements for subsistence, and to recruit their horses, 
would arrive by the r2th of the month. He wished to com- 
mence his operations directly, " knov/ing they would be pre- 
pared for it, and well knowing they would require it. I am 
astonished," he continued, " to hear that your supplies con- 
tinue deficient. In the name of God, what are the contractors 
doing, and about what are they engaged.' Every letter I 
receive from Governor Blount, assures me I am to receive plen- 
tiful supplies from them, and seems to take for granted, not- 
withstanding all I have said to the contrary, that they have 
been hitherto regularly furnished. Considering the generous 
loan the State has made for this purpose, and the facility of 
procuring bread-stuffs in East Tennessee, and the transporting 
them by water to Fort Deposit, it is to me wholly unaccounta- 
ble that not a pound has ever arrived at that place. This evil 
must continue no longer— it must be remedied. I expect, 
therefore, and through you must require, that in twenty days 
they furnish at Deposit every necessary supply." 

While these measures were taking, the volunteers, through 



INDIAN CAMPAIGN. 69 

several of their officers, were pressing on the consideration of 
the general the expiration of their service, and claiming to be 
discharged on the 10th of the month. From the colonel v.'ho 
commanded the second regiment, he received a letter, dated 
the 4th of December, 1813, in which was attempted to be 
detailed their whole ground of complaint. He began by- 
stating, that painful as it was, he nevertheless felt himself 
bound to disclose an important and unpleasant truth : that, on 
the 10th, the service would be deprived of the regiment he 
commanded. He seemed to deplore, with great sensibility, 
the scene that would be exhibited on that day, should opposi- 
tion be made to their departure ; and still more sensibly the 
consequences that would result from a disorderly abandonment 
of the camp. He stated they had all considered themselves 
finally discharged on the 20th of April, 1813, and never knew 
to the contrary until they saw his order of the 24th of Sep- 
tember, 1813, requiring them to rendezvous at Fayetteville on 
the 4th of October, 1813 ; for the first time, they then learned 
that they owed further services, their discharge to the contrary 
notwithstanding. "Thus situated, there was considerable 
opposition to the order ; on which the officers generally, as I 
am advised, and I know myself in particular, gave it as an 
unequivocal opinion, that their term of servics would terminate 
on the 10th of December, 1813. 

" They therefore look to their general, who has their confi- 
dence, for an honorable discharge on that day ; and that, in every 
respect, he will see that justice be done them. They regret 
that their particular situations and circumstances require them 
to leave their general at a time when their services are impor- 
tant to the common cause. It would be desirable," he contin- 
ued, " that those men who have served with honor, should be 
honorably discharged, and that they should return to their 
families and friends without even the semblance of disgrace ; 
with their general they leave it to place them in that situation. 
They have received him as an aftectionate father, w^hile they 
have honored, revered, and obeyed him; but, having devoted a 
considerable portion of their time to the service of their coun- 
try, by which their domestic concerns are greatly deranged, 
they wish to return, and attend to their own affairs." 



70 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

Altliough this communication announced tlie determination 
of only a part of the volunteer brigade, he had already abun- 
dant evidence that the defection was but too general. The 
difficulties vv^hich the general had heretofore been compelled to 
encounter, from the discontent of his troops, might well induce 
him to regret that a spirit of insubordination should again 
threaten to appear in his camp. That he might, if possible, 
prevent it, he hastened to lay before them the error and impro- 
priety of their views, and the consequences involved, should 
they persist in their purpose. 

"I know not," he observed, "what scenes will be exhibited 
on the 10th instant, nor what consequences are to flow from 
them here or elsewhere ; but as I shall have the consciousness 
that they are not imputable to any misconduct of mine, I trust 
I shall have the firmness not to shrink from a discharge of my 
duty. It will be well, however, for those who intend to be- 
come actors in those scenes, and who are about to hazard so 
much on the correctness of their opinions, to examine before- 
hand, with great caution and deliberation, the grounds on which 
their pretensions rest. Are they founded on any false assu- 
rances of mine, or upon any deception that has been practised 
towards them .' Was not the act of congress under which they 
are engaged directed, by my general order, to be read, and ex- 
pounded to them, before they enrolled themselves .' That order 
will testify, and so will the recollection of every general offi- 
cer of my division. It is not pretended, that those who now 
claim to be discharged were not legally and fairly enrolled un- 
der the act of congress of the 6th of February, 1812. Have 
they performed the service required of them by that act, and 
which they then solemnly undertook to perform .' That re- 
quired one year's service out of two, to be computed from the 
day of rendezvous, unless they should be sooner discharged. 
Has one year's service been performed .' This cannot be seri- 
ously pretended. Have they then been discharged .' It is said 
they have, and by me. To account for so extraordinary a 
belief, it may be necessary to take. a review of past circum- 
.stances. 

" More than twelve months have elapsed since we were call 
fid upon to avenge the injured rights of our country. We 



INDIAJN CAMPAIGN. 71 

>obeyed the call. In llie midst of hardships, which none but 
those to whom hberty is dear could have borne without a mur- 
mur, we descended the Mississippi. It was believed our ser- 
vices were wanted in the prosecution of the just war in which 
our country was engaged, and we were prepared to render 
them. But though we were disappointed in our expectations, 
we established for Tennessee a name which Avill long do her 
honor. At length, we received a letter from the secretary of 
war directing our dismission. You well recollect the circum- 
stances of wretchedness in which this order was calculated to 
place us. By it we were deprived of every article of public 
property ; no provision was made for the payment of our 
troops, or their subsistence on their return march ; while ma- 
ny of our sick, unable to help themselves, must have perish- 
ed. Against the opinion of many, I marched them back to 
their homes before I dismissed them. Your regiment, at its 
own request, was dismissed at Columbia. This was accom- 
panied with a certificate to each man, expressing the acts under 
which he had been enrolled, and the length of the tour he had 
performed. This it is, which is now attempted to be construed 
* a final discharge ;' but surely it cannot be forgotten by any 
officer or soldier, how sacredly they pledged themselves, before 
they were dismissed or received that certificate, cheerfully to 
obey the voice of their country, if it should re-summon them 
into service ; neither can it be forgotten, I dare hope, for what 
purpose that certificate was given ; it was to secure, if possible, 
to those brave men who had shown such readiness to serve 
their country, certain extra emoluments, specified in the seventh 
section of the act under which they engaged, in the event they 
were not recalled into service for the residue of their term. 

^' Is it trae, then, that my solicitude for the interest of the 
volunteers is to be made by them a pretext for disgracing a 
name which they have rendered illustrious? Is a certificate, 
designed solely for their benefit, to become the rallying word 
for mutiny ? — strange perversion of feeling and of reasoning ! 
Have I really any power to discharge men whose term of ser- 
vice has not expired ! If I were weak or wicked enough to 
attempt the exercise of such a power, does any one believe 
the soldier would be thereby exonerated from the obligation 



72 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

he has voluntarily token upon himself to his government ? I 
should become a traitor to the important concern which has 
been intrusted to my management, while the soldier, M'ho had 
been deceived by a false hope of liberation, would be still ha- 
ble to redeem his pledge ; I should disgrace myself, without 
benefitting you. 

" I can only deplore the situation of those officers who have 
undertaken to persuade their men that their term of service 
will expire on the 10th. In giving their opinions to this effect, 
they have acted indiscreetly, and without sufiicient authority. 
It would be the most pleasing act of my life to restore them 
with honor to their families. _ Nothing would pain me more 
than that any other sentiments should be felt towards them 
than those of gratitude and esteem. On all occasions, it has 
been my highest happiness to promote their interest, and even 
to gratify their wishes, where, with propriety, it could be done. 
When in the lower countrj^ believing that, in order for their 
dismissal, they had been improperly treated, I even solicited 
the government to discharge them, finally, from the obligations 
into which they had entered. You know the answer of the 
Secretary of War — that neither he nor the President, as he be- 
lieved, had the pov/er to discharge them. How, then, can it 
be required of me to do so ? 

«' The moment it is signified to me by any competent autho- 
rity, even by the governor of Tennessee, to whom I have writ- 
ten on the subject, or by General Pinckney, who is now ap- 
pointed to the command, that the volunteers may be exonera- 
ted from further service, that moment I will pronounce it with 
the greatest satisfaction. I have only the power of pronounc- 
ing a discharge — not of giving it in any case; a distinction 
which I would wish should be borne in mind. Already have 
I sent to raise volunteers, on my responsibility, to complete a 
campaign which has been so happily begun, and thus far, so 
fortunately prosecuted. The moment they arrive, and I am 
assured that, fired by our exploits, they will hasten in crowdf5 
on the first intimation that we need their services, they will 
be substituted in the place of those who are discontented here; 
the latter will then be permitted to return to their homes, with 
all the honor which, under such circumstances, they can car- 



INDIAN CAMPAIGN. 73 

ry along with iliem. But I still cherish the hope, that their 
dissatisfaction and complaints have been greatly exaggerated, 
I cannot, must not believe, that ' the volunteers of Tennessee,' 
a name ever dear to fame, will disgrace themselves, and a 
country which they have honored, 1)y abandoning her stand- 
ard, as mutineers and deserters ; but should I be disappointed, 
and compelled to resign this pleasing hope, one thing I will 
not resign — my duty. Mutiny and sedition, so long as I pos- 
sess the power of quelling them, shall be put down ; and even 
when left destitute of this, I will still be found, in the last ex- 
tremity, endeavoring to discharge the duty I owe my country 
and myself." 

To the platoon officers, who addressed him on the same 
subject, he replied with nearly the same spirited feeling ; but 
discontent was too deeply fastened, and by designing men, 
had been too artfully fomented, to be removed by any thing 
like argument or entreaty. At length, on the evening of the 
9th of December, 1813, General Hall hastened to the tent of 
Jackson, with information that his whole brigade was in a 
state of mutiny, and making preparations to move forcibly ofT. 
This was a measure which every consideration of policy, du- 
ty, and honor, required Jackson to oppose ; and to this purpose 
he instantly applied all the means he possessed. He immedi- 
ately issued the following general order : " The commanding 
general being informed that an actual mutiny exists in his 
camp, all officers and soldiers are commanded to put it down. 
The officers and soldiers of the first brigade will, without de- 
lay, parade on the west side of the fort, and await further or- 
ders." The artillery company, with two small field-pieces, 
being posted in the front and rear, and the militia, under the 
command of Colonel Wynne, on the eminences, in advance, 
were ordered to prevent any forcible departure of the volun- 
teers. 

The general rode along the line, which had been previously 
formed agreeably to his orders, and addressed them, by com- 
panies, in a strain of impassioned eloquence. He feelingly 
expatiated on their former good conduct, and the esteem and 
applause it had secured them ; and pointed to the disgracft 



74 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

which they must heap upon themselves, their families, and 
country, by persisting, even if they could succeed, in their 
present mutiny. He told them, however, they should not 
succeed but by passing over his body ; that even in opposing 
their mutinous spirit, he should perish honorably — by perish- 
ing at his post, and in the discharge of his duty. " Reinforce- 
ments," he continued, " are preparing to hasten to my assist- 
ance ; it cannot be long before they will arrive. I am, too, 
in daily expectation of receiving information, whether you 
may be discharged or not — until then you must not, and shall 
not, retire. I have done with entreaty, — it has been used long 
enough. I will attempt it no more. You must now deter- 
mine whether you will go, or peaceably remain ; if you still 
persist in your determination to move forcibly off, the point 
hetvveen us shall soon be decided." At first they hesitated ; 
he demanded an explicit and positive ansvv'er. They still hes- 
itated, and he commanded the artillerist to prepare the match ; 
he himself remaining in front of the volunteers, and within 
the line of fire, which he intended soon to order. Alarmed at 
his apparent determination, and dreading the consequences in- 
volved in such a contest, " Let us return," was presently 
lisped along the line, and soon after determined upon. The 
officers now came forward and pledged themselves for their 
men, w^ho either nodded assent, or openly expressed a willing- 
ness to retire to their quarters, and remain without further 
tumult, until information were had, or the expected aid should 
arrive. Thus passed away a moment of the greatest peril, 
and pregnant w^th important consequences. 

This matchless and ever memorable scene, the reader will 
observe, took place on the 10th of December, 1813 ; the vol- 
unteers having formed their first rendezvous, as he will recol- 
lect, on the 10th of December, 1812. One year had certainly 
expired ; but there had not been a year's service ; for they had 
not been in service from the 1st of May to the 10th of Octo- 
ber, 1813 ; so that there remained five months of the year's 
service to come. The general was right in his construction of 
the bargain ; but, besides this, to have forsaken the campaign 
in such a manner, would have been ruinous in the extreme ; 



INDIAN CAMPAIGN. 75 

the savage enemy, not yet subdued, but exasperated to the 
last degree, would have assailed the unprotected frontiers, and 
have drenched it in the blood of the defenseless citizens. 

This difficulty got over, was by no means the last which he 
had to encounter : discontents were continually rising up in 
his army; the governor of Tennessee recommended him to 
abandon his enterprise; he had to reject this advice with scorn. 
One general retired with his brigade ; opposition after opposi- 
tion he met with from different officers, yet he proceeded on to 
assault the blood thirsty enemy, in spite of every impediment, 
though he had to imprison officers, to hang a militia soldier, 
and to do things which it appears almost to require credulity 
unbounded to believe to be true. Finally, however, he suc- 
ceeded : he subdued the savage tribes ; he reduced them to 
sue for pardon and for peace ; he concluded a treaty with 
them ; took them out of the hands of the more crafty and more 
powerful enemy of America ; and cleared the way for a battle, 
single-handed, with the British, on the Gulf of Mexico, and 
finally at New-Orleans. 



CHAPTER IV. 



FROM APRIL, 1814, TO DECEiMBER, 1814. 

Perfidious conduct of the Spanish Governor of Pensacola — Jackson's 
remonstrance — Nicholls's proclamation — Defeat of the British at 
Fort Bowyer, by Major Lawrence — Reduction of Pensacola, and 
retreat of the British — Jackson's arrival at New-Orleans — Prepa- 
rations made by the British for the reduction of New-Orleans. 

He was now (spring of 1814) appointed to be a major-gen- 
eral in the service of the United Slates. The protection of the 
coast near the mouths of the Mississippi was intrusted to him ; 
and his first attention was turned to the comfort, the encour- 
agement, the protection which the savages received from the 
Spanish governor, and Spanish authorities in the fortress of 
Pensacola, which is situated on the Gulf of Mexico, at about 
a hundred miles distance from New-Orleans, about thirty 
miles from the frontiers of the State of Alabama, and about a 
hundred miles from the main fastness of the Creek Indians. 
His opinion was, that the savages were always receiving as- 
sistance from the Spanish garrison, and from the British, 
through the means of that garrison ; and he was persuaded 
that, finally, the British would assail New-Orleans by means 
of preparations made at Pensacola. On his way to the south, 
he learned that about three hundred British troops had landed, 
and were fortifying themselves at no great distance from Pen- 
sacola. In this state of things, he endeavored to prevail up- 
on the Spanish governor to desist from all acts injurious to 
the United States. The Spanish governor shuffled at first, and 
afterward boldly lied. By this time, and in fact before, 
the news had been received of the fall of Napoleon, and of his 
banishment to Elba. This event inspired new villany, and 
new courage, every where. This Spanish garrison was, in 



PERFIDY OF THE SPANIARDS. 77 

fact, a rendezvous for the British : it was a rendezvous for the 
savage enemies of the United States. Captain Gordon, sent 
by Jackson to see what was passing, in the month of August, 
(1814,) reported to the general, that he had seen from fifty to 
two hundred officers and soldiers, a park of artillery, about 
five hundred savages under the drill of British officers, and 
dressed in the English uniform. He wrote to the government, 
and remonstrated with it upon the subject of its timidity in 
permitting this. The Secretary of War, that same Armstrong 
that w^e have mentioned before, in the 2d chapter, coincided 
with him in opinion upon this point, and, indeed, authorized 
him to attack Pensacola; but, though this letter bore date of 
the 18th of July, 1814, it was never received by Jackson until 
the nth of January, 1815 ; that is to say, nine days after the 
British army had been partly slaughtered, and partly driven 
into the sea, before New-Orleans ! From the date of this letter, 
the city of Washington was left totally deprived of all defense. 
It is impossible to believe that there was not treason here ; at 
the very least it was a contrivance to have in reserve the 
grounds of throwing the blame of failure upon Jackson. 

Mobile, at that time, was but a fort belonging to the Ameri- 
cans, at the head of a little bay in the Gulf of Mexico, and in 
the territory of Alabama. To Mobile he repaired. There he 
learned that the approach of a great British force might be ex- 
pected; and that the final object, was the capture of the city 
of New-Orleans. At this time (August, 1814) Colonel Nich- 
oUs, of the British army, arrived at Pensacola, whence he 
issued a proclamation to the southern and western inhabitants 
of the United States; and from that garrison he issued his 
proclamation, every word of which ought to be remembered 
for ages by the people of England, as well as the people of 
America. 

PROCLAMATION OF COLONEL NICHOLLS TO THE SOUTHERN AND 
W^ESTERN INHABITANTS. 

Natives of Louisiana ! on you the first call is made, to as- 
sist in liberating from a faithless, imbecile government, your 
paternal soil: Spaniards, Frenchmen, Italians, and British, 



78 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON, 

whether settled or residing for a time in Louisiana, on yon, 
also, I call, to aid me in this just cause. The American usur- 
pation in this country must he abolished, and the lawful own- 
ers of the soil put in possession. I am at the head of a large 
body of Indians, well armed, disciplined, and commanded by 
British officers — a good train of artillery, with every requi- 
site, seconded by the powerful aid of a numerous British and 
Spanish squadron of ships and vessels of w^ar. Be not alarm- 
ed, inhabitants of the country, at our approach ; the same good 
faith and disinterestedness which have distinguished the con- 
duct of Britons in Europe accompany them here; you will 
have no fear of litigious taxes imposed on you for the purpose 
of carrying on an unnatural and unjust w^ar; your property,, 
your laws, the peace and tranquility of your country, will be 
guarantied to you by men who will suffer no infringement of 
theirs ; rest assured that these brave red men only burn with. 
an ardent desire of satifaction for the wrongs they have suf- 
fered from the Americans ; to join you in liberating these 
southern provinces from their yoke, and drive them into those 
limits formerly proscribed by my sovereign. The Indians have 
pledged themselves in the most solemn manner not to injure, 
in the slightest degree, the persons or property of any but en- 
emies. A flag over any door, whether Spanish, French, or 
British, w^ill be a certain protection ; nor dare any Indian put 
his foot on the threshhold thereof, under penalty of death 
from his own countrymen ; not even an enemy will an 
Indian put to death, except resisting in arms; and as for injuring 
helpless women and children, the red men, by their good con- 
duct and treatment to them, will (if it be possible) make the 
Americans blush for their more inhuman conduct, lately, on 
the Escambia, and within a neutral territory. 

Inhabitants of Kentucky, you have too long borne with 
grievous impositions — the whole brunt of the war has fallen 
on your brave sons : be imposed on no longer ; but either range 
yourselves under the standard of your forefathers, or observe 
a strict neutrality. If you comply with either of these offers, 
whatever provisions you send down will be paid for in dollars, 
and the safety of the persons bringing them, as well as the free 
navigation of the Mississippi guarantied to you. Men of 



PROCLAMATION OF COLONEL NICPIOLLS. 79^ 

Kentucky, let me call to your view, (and I trust to your abhor- 
rence,) the conduct of those factions which hurried you inta 
this civil, unjust, and unnatural war, at a time when Great 
Britain was straining every nerve in defense ^f her own and 
the liberties of the w^orld — when the bravest of her sons were 
fighting and bleeding in so sacred a cause — when she was 
spending millions of her treasure in endeavoring to pull down 
one of the most formidable and dangerous tyrants that ever 
disgraced the form of man — when groaning Europe was al- 
most in her last gasp — when Britons alone showed an undaunt- 
ed front — basely did those assassins endeavor to stab her from 
the rear ; she has turned on them, renovated from the bloody 
but successful struggle — Europe is happy and free, and she 
now hastens justly to avenge the unprovoked insult. vShow 
them that you are not collectively unjust ; leave that contempti- 
ble few to shift for" themselves; let those slaves of the tyrant 
send an embassy to Elba, and implore his aid ; but let every 
honest, upright American, spurn them with united contempt. 
After the experience of twenty-one years, can you longer sup- 
port those brawlers for liberty who call it freedom when them- 
selves are free ? Be no longer their dupes — accept of my offers 
— every thing I have promised in this paper I guaranty to you 
on the sacred honor of a British officer. 

Given under my hand, at my head-quarters, Pensacola, 
this 29th day of August, 1814. 

EDWARD NICHOLLS. 

The reader will laugh at this " sacred honor of a British 
officer," who says, that he is " coming at the head of a large 
body of savages," and who tells them that he will "free them 
from litigious taxes." However, here was this man of " sa- 
cred honor," telling us that his '■'head quarters''' are at Pensa- 
cola, though the scoundrel Spaniard pleaded his neutrality. 

The first act of hostility here, on the part of the British, 
was on a fort called Fort Bowyer, on the Mobile. On the 
loth of September, 1814, Nicholls and Woodbine approached 
by land, while several vessels approached by sea, mounting 
altogether ninety guns. This expedition ended in the blowing 
up of one of the English ships, greatly damaging another. 



80 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

and sending off the proclamation-maker with the loss of one 
of his ships, and, as was said, one of his eyes. Major Law- 
rence commanded in the American fort. His brave band 
consisted of only one hundred and thirty men; while the 
force of the British was, as we have seen, ninety guns by sea, 
while NichoUs and Woodbine assaulted the fort by land, with 
a twelve-pound howitzer, and several hundreds of marines, 
sailors, and savages. This was an affair singularly honorable 
to Major Lawrence and his men. The disparity of force was 
incredible ; and this disgraceful beating at the outset must 
have had a considerable eifect upon the enemy. Jackson was, 
however, resolved to break up the rendezvous of Pensacola; 
and on the 6th of November, 1814, he marched against it, de- 
molished all its defenses and protections, drove out the British 
and the savages, and taught Nichollsand the Spanish Govern- 
or that, though Buonaparte was banished to Elba, there was 
still one country left which was not to be insulted with impu- 
nity by the satellites of despotism. 

Having given the haughty and insolent foe a foretaste of 
that which was to come, he repaired to that which was to be 
the grand scene of action. He arrived at the city of New-Or- 
leans on the 1st of December, 1814. News had been received 
of the approach of a British fleet. The first intelligence of 
this sort was received on the 4th of December. Cochrane, 
who commanded the British fleet, and who had the celebrated 
Sir George Cockburn under him, had collected all their forces 
together, after they had been beaten off from before Baltimore, 
and had sailed off for New-Orleans, whither Nicholls had been 
sent before, to prepare the way for the proclamation, which 
we have just seen, issued from his head-quarters at Pensacola. 
They were to be joined, as they afterward were, by a strong 
body of the " heroes of the Peninsula." Their force altogeth- 
er was prodigious : ships of the Hne, frigates, sloops of war, 
fire-ships, great numbers of furnaces to heat shot, Con- 
greve rockets, all manner of materials for sapping, and miniiig, 
and blowing up : an expedition costing, in all probability, 
more than a million of pounds sterling in the fitting out. 
There were eleven thousand regular " heroes of the Peninsu- 
la;" there were four generals, two admirals, at the least ; 



BRITISH CONCENTRATE UPON NEW-ORLEANS. 81 

twelve thousand, at the least, of seamen and marines, with artil- 
lery in abundance, of all sorts ; perhaps a hundred gun-boats and 
barges ; and every expense ready to be incurred for the em- 
ployment of persons of all sorts ; besides numerous bands of 
savages ready to come in, if the attack had succeeded. Here 
after all, there was nothing equal to the perils of the Indian 
campaign ; but there was quite enough to daunt any man, ex- 
cept him, who finally faced it alL 



CHAPTER V 



FROM DECEMBER 1, 1814, TO MARCH, 1815. 

Defense of New-Orleans — Jackson is beset with traitors and spies 
— Arms not sent to him — Enemy lands on the 23d December — He 
marches in the night and drives them back — Divers smaller en- 
gagements — The traitors in the assembly and in the town conspire 
against him — Defeats the British with great slaughter, 8th January 
— Drives them out of the country — His farewell address to his ar- 
my — The account given by the British Government of this im- 
portant transaction. 

We have seen that Jackson, having received intelligence 
which made him believe, and quite certain, indeed, that the 
intention of the British was to get possession of the mouths 
of the Mississippi, of the whole State of Louisiana, and par- 
ticularly of that rich prize, the city of New-Orleans, filled with 
sugar, coffee, flour, cotton, and all sorts of merchandize, re- 
paired thither, that is to say, to the city itself, on the 1st of 
December, 1814. On the 6th of December, he received cer- 
tain intelligence that a large British force was off the port of 
Pensacola, destined to act against New-Orleans; that it amount- 
ed to about eighty vessels, and that more than double that 
number were momentarily looked for, to form a junction with 
tliose already arrived ; that there were in this fleet vessels of 
all descriptions, contrived for the most deadly purposes, with 
a large body of land troops ; that Admiral Cochrane had the 
command, and that his ship, the Tonnant, was then (4th De- 
cember) lying off Pensacola. 

The hour now arrived, then, in which was to be tried the 
naked courage of undisciplined Americans against the best 
soldiers that Great Britain was able to produce, with every ad- 
vantage on their side. Without stopping to relate the pre- 



DEFENSE OF NEW-ORLEANS. 83 

liminary movements, and all the preparations for attack made 
by the British, I come at once to the beginning of the fight- 
ing, which took place on the 23d of December, when, in the 
evening, the British made a landing, and when Jackson re- 
solved, at all events, to march and give them battle. I must 
stop here, however, to remark on something much more in- 
teresting than the mere fighting : it is not mere fighting that 
will depict to us the true character of a general and a states- 
man. Here Jackson had to contend against difficulties and 
dangers of every description. The comparatively small num- 
ber, and the want of discipline, of his troops, I do not reckon 
among his difficulties ; but treason, in every quarter and cor- 
ner of the city and the state which he had to defend ; spies 
continually communicating with the enemy ; base and coward- 
ly French and Spanish merchants, and paper-money makers, 
all puffed up with exultation at the triumph of the despots of 
Europe and the banishment of Napoleon to Elba, (events which 
had just taken place,) and all full of the hope and expectation 
that Jackson and his army would be cut in pieces (it being to 
be observed, that the State of Louisiana had been purchased 
from the French by the Americans no longer before than in 
the year 1811 ;) traitor editors endeavoring to sow discontent 
in his army, and when he imprisoned the author, a traitor 
judge found to order his release on a habeas corpus, whereup- 
on he imprisoned him ; but, above all things, a want of arms, 
owing to the scandalous neglect of officers of the federal gov- 
ernment, which made it perilous for him to suffer communica- 
tion between even his own lines, it being absolutely necessa- 
ry for him to keep from the enemy a knowledge of his unarmed 
and destitute situation. These things, much more than the 
force of the enemy, and all their immense means of attack, 
rendered his situation perilous. Driven to the extremity of 
proclaiming martial law, and of enforcing it with the utmost 
severity ; there was he, with his handful of faithful men, who 
had come down to him, unarmed and unprovided, a distance 
of five hundred miles ; with faithful generals and brother-offi- 
cers, to be sure : but with a people to defend who were ready 
to stab him in the back, while a powerful invading army was 
coming at him in front ; and even with a legislative assembly 



84 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

proposing to capitulate with the enemy, and to surrender 
themselves, their city, and their state, to the mercy of that 
enemy. 

It was with all these difficulties and dangers staring him in 
the face, that he boldly proceeded on to the deliverance of his 
country ; and we are now going to enter on the most interest- 
ing details of his proceedings in effecting this deliverance. 

On the 23d of December, as has been before related, the en- 
emy made a landing ; and Jackson, v/ishing to gain time to 
complete his lines, and also thinking it of importance to give 
the enemy a taste of the difficulties which he would have to 
overcome, determined to proceed to attack the enemy in the 
night of the 23d of December. Generals Coffee and Carroll 
"were ordered to proceed immediately from their encampment, 
and join him with all haste. Although four miles above, they 
arrived in the city in less than two hours after the order had 
been issued. These forces, with the seventh and forty-fourth 
j*egiments, the Louisiana troops, and Colonel Hinds' dragoons, 
from J^Iississippi, constituted the strength of his army, which 
could be carried into action against an enemy, whose numbers, 
at this time, could only be conjectured. It was thought advi- 
sable that General Carroll and his division should be disposed 
in the rear, for the reason that there was no correct informa- 
tion of the force landed through Villery's canal, and because 
Jackson feared that this probably might be merely a feint 
intended to divert his attention, while a much stronger and 
more numerous division, having already gained some point 
higher on the lake, might, by advancing in his absence, gain 
his rear, and succeed in their designs. Uncertain of their move- 
ments, it was essential he should be prepared for the worst, 
and by different dispositions of his troops be ready to resist, 
in whatever quarter he might be assailed. Carroll, therefore, 
at the head of his division, and Governor Claiborne, with the 
state militia, were directed to take post on the Gentilly road, 
which leads from Chef Menteur to New-Orleans, and to defend 
it to the last extremity. 

Alarm pervaded the city. The marching and countermarch- 
ing of the troops, the proximity of the enemy, with the ap- 
proaching contest, and uncertainty of the issue, had excited a 



DEFENSE OF NEW-ORLEANS. 85 

general fear. Already might the British be on their way and 
at hand, before the necessary arrangements could be made to 
oppose them. To prevent this Colonel Hayne, with two com- 
panies of riflemen, and the Mississippi dragoons, was sent 
forward to reconnoitre their camp, learn their position and 
their numbers, and if they should be found advancing, to har- 
ass and oppose them at every step until the main body should 
arrive. 

Every thing being ready. General Jackson commenced his 
march, to meet and light the veteran troops of England. An 
inconsiderable circumstance at this moment evinced what un- 
limited confidence was reposed in his skill and bravery. As 
his troops were marching through the city, his ears were as- 
sailed with the screams and cries of innumerable females, who 
had collected on the way, and seemed to apprehend the worst 
of consequences. Feeling for their distresses, and anxious to 
quiet them, he directed Mr. Livingston, one of his aids-de- 
camp, to address them in the French language. " Say to 
them," said he, "not to be alarmed: the enemy shall never 
reach the city." It operated like an electric shock. To know 
that he himself was not apprehensive of a fatal result, inspired 
them with altered feelings ; sorrow was ended, and their grief 
converted into hope and confidence. 

The general arrived in view of the enemy a little before 
dark. Having previously ascertained from Colonel Hayne, 
who had been sent in advance, their position, and that their 
strength was about two thousand men,* he immediately con- 
certed the mode of attack, and hastened to execute it. Com- 
modore Patterson, who commanded the naval forces on this 
station, with Captain Henly, on board the Caroline, had been 
directed to drop down, anchor in front of their line, and open 
upon them from the guns of the schooner ; this being the ap- 
pointed signal, when given, the attack was to be waged simul- 
taneously on all sides. The fires from their camp disclosed 

*This opinion, as it afterward appeared, was incorrect. The 
number of the British, at tbe commencement of the action, was 
three thousand, and was shortly afterward increased by additional 
forces ; Jackson's strength did not exceed two thousand. 



86 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

their position, and showed their encampment, formed with 
their left resting on the river, and extending at right angles 
into the open field. General Coffee, with his brigade. Colonel 
Hinds' dragoons, and Captain BeaPs company of riflemen, was 
ordered to oblique to the left, and, by a circuitous route, avoid 
their pickets, and endeavor to turn their right wing ; having 
succeeded in this, to form his line, and press the enemy towards 
the river, where they would be exposed more completely to the 
fire of the Caroline. The rest of the troops, consisting of the 
regulars, Ploache's city volunteers, Daquin's colored troops, the 
artillery under Lieutenant Spotts, supported by a company of 
marines commanded by Colonel M'Kee, advanced on the road 
along the bank of the Mississippi, and were commanded by 
Jackson in person. 

General Coffee with silence and caution had advanced be- 
yond their pickets, next the swamp, and nearly reached the 
point to which he was ordered, when a broadside from the 
Caroline announced the battle begun. Patterson had proceed- 
ed slowly, giving time, as he believed, for the execution of 
those arrangements contemplated on the shore. So sanguine 
had the British been in the belief that they would be kindly 
received, and little opposition attempted, that the Caroline 
floated by the sentinels, and anchored before their camp with- 
out any kind of molestation. On passing the front picket, she 
was hailed in a low tone of voice, but not returning an an- 
swer, no further question was made. This, added to some 
other attendant circumstances, confirmed the opinion that they 
believed her a vessel laden with provisions, which had been 
sent out from New Orleans, and was intended for them. Hav- 
ing reached what, from their fires, appeared to be the centre 
of their encampment, her anchors were cast, and her character 
and business disclosed from her guns. So unexpected an at- 
tack produced a momentary confusion; but recovering, she 
was answered by a discharge of musketry and flight of Con- 
greve rockets, which passed without injury, while the grape 
and cannister from her guns were pouring destructively on 
them. To take away the certainty of aim afforded by the 
light from their fires, these were immediately extinguished, 



DEFENSE OF NEW-OIILEANS. 87 

•and they retired two or three hundred yards into the open 
field, if not out of the reach of the cannon, at least to a dis- 
tance where, by the darkness of the night, they would be pro- 
tected. 

Coifee had dismounted his men, and turned his horses 
loose, at a large ditch, next the swamp, in the rear of Larond's 
plantation, and gained, as he believed, the centre of the ene- 
emy's line, when the signal from the Caroline reached him. 
He directly wheeled his columns in, and extending his line 
parallel with the river, moved towards their camp. He had 
advanced scarcely more than a hundred yards, when he re- 
ceived a heavy fire, from a line formed in his front ; this, to 
him, was an unexpected circumstance, as he supposed the ene- 
my lying principally at a distance, and that the only opposition 
he should meet, until he approached towards the levee,* would 
be from their advanced pickets. The circumstance of his 
coming in contact with them so soon, was owing to the severe 
attack of the schooner, which had compelled the enemy to 
abandon their camp, and form without the reach of her guns. 
The moon shone, but reflected her light too feebly to discover ob- 
jects at a distance. The only means, therefore, of producing 
certain effect, with the kind of force engaged, which consisted 
chiefly of riflemen, was not to venture at random, but to dis- 
charge their pieces only when there should be a certainty of 
felling the object. This order being given, the line pressed 
on, and having gained a position near enough to distinguish, 
a general fire was given ; it was well directed, and too severe 
and destructive to be withstood ; the enemy gave way and 
retreated — rallied — formed — were charged, and again retreated. 
The gallant yeomanry, led by their brave commander, urged 
fearlessly on, and drove their invaders from every position 
they attempted to maintain. Their general was under no ne- 
cessity to encourage and allure them to deeds of valor: his 

*Banka thrown up on the margin of the river to confine the 
stream to its bed; and which are extended along the Mississippi, 
on both sides, from the termination of the highlands, near Baton 
Rouge. Frequently the river in its vernal floods rises above the 
elevation of the plains, and then the security of the country de- 
pends on the strength of those levees ; they not unfrequently break, 
when incalculable injury is the consequence. 



88 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON, 

own example was sufficient to excite them. Always in the 
midst, he displayed a coolness and disregard of danger, calling 
to his troops that they had often said they could fight, and 
that now was the time to prove it. 

The British, driven back by the resolute firmness and ardor 
of the assailants, had now reached a grove of orange trees, 
with a ditch running past it, protected by a fence on the mar- 
gin. Here they were halted and formed for battle. It was a 
favorable position, promising security, and was occupied with 
a confidence they could not be forced to yield it. Coffee's 
dauntless yeomanry, strengthened in their hopes of success, 
moved on, nor discovered the advantages against them, until a 
fire from the entire British line showed their position and de- 
fense. A sudden check was given ; but it was only momen- 
tary, for gathering fresh ardor, they charged across the ditch, 
gave a deadly and destructive fire, and forced them to retire. 
The retreat continued, until gaining a similar position, the 
British made another stand, and v/ere again driven from it with 
considerable loss. 

Thus the battle raged on the left wing, until the British 
reached the bank of the river ; here a determined stand was 
made, and further encroachments resisted : for half an hour 
the conflict was extremely violent on both sides. The Ameri- 
can troops could not be driven from their purpose, nor the 
British made to yield their ground; but at length, having suf- 
fered greatly, the latter were under the necessity of taking 
refuge behind the levee, which afforded a breast-work, and 
protected them from the fatal fire of our riflemen. Coffee, un- 
acquainted with their position, for the darkness had greatly- 
increased, already contemplated again to charge them ; but one 
of his officers, who had discovered the advantage their situa- 
tion gave them, assured him it was too hazardous ; that they 
could be driven no farther, and would, from the point they oc- 
cupied, resist v/ith the bayonet, and repel, with considerable 
loss, any attempt that might be made to dislodge them. The 
place of their retirement was covered in front by a strong 
bank, which had been extended into the field, to keep out the 
river, in consequence of the first being encroached upon, and 
undermined in several places: the former, however, was still 



DEFENSE OF NEW-ORLEANS. 8^ 

entire in many parts, which, interposing between them and 
the Mississippi, afforded security from the broadsides of the 
schooner, which lay off at some distance. A further appre- 
liension, lest, by moving still nearer to the river, he might 
greatly expose himself to the fire of the Caroline, which was 
yet spiritedly maintaining the conflict, induced Coffee to retire 
until he could hear from the commanding general, and receive 
his further orders. 

During this time the right wing, under Jackson, had been 
no less prompt and active. A detachment of artillery, under 
Lieutenant Spotts, supported by sixty marines, and constitu- 
ting the advance, had moved down the road next the levee. 
On their left was the seventh regiment of infantry, led by 
Major Piere. The forty-fourth, commanded by JMajor Baker, 
was formed on the extreme left ; while Plauche's and Daquin's 
battalions of city guards were directed to be posted in the 
centre, between the seventh and forty-fourth. The general 
had ordered Colonel Ross (who during the night acted in the 
capacity of brigadier-general, for he was without a brigadier,) 
on hearing the signal from the Caroline, to move off by heads, 
of companies, and, on reaching the enemy's line, to deploy,, 
and unite the left wing of his command with the right of 
General Coffee's. This order was omitted to be executed; and 
the consequence was an early introduction of confusion in 
he ranks, which prevented the important design of uniting 
the two divisions. 

Instead of moving in column from the first position, the 
troops, \vith the exception of the seventh regiment, next the 
person of the general, which advanced agreeably to the 
instructions that liad been given, were formed and marched in 
extended line. Having sufficient ground to form on at first,, 
no inconvenience was at the moment sustained ; but this ad- 
vantage presently failing, the centre became compressed, and: 
was forced in the rear. The river, from where they were- 
formed, gradually inclined to the left, and diminished the- 
space originally possessed. Farther in, stood Larond's house, 
surrounded by a grove of clustered orange-trees : this press- 
ing the left, and the river the right wing to the centre, formed 
a curve, which presently threw the principal part of Plauche's; 



DO LIFE 0? ANDREW JACKSON. 

and Daquin's battalions without the line. This inconvenience 
might have been remedied, but for the briskness of the ad- 
vance, and the darkness ©f the night. A heavy fire from 
behind a fence, immediately before them, had brought the 
enemy to view. Acting in obedience to their orders, not to 
waste their ammunition at random, our troops had pressed for- 
ward against the opposition in their front, and thereby threw 
those battalions in the rear. 

A fog rising from the river, and which, added to the smoke 
from the guns, was covering the plain, gradually diminished 
the little light shed by the moon, and greatly increased the 
darkness of the night: no clue was left to ascertain how or 
where the enemy were situated. There was no alternative 
but to move on in the direction of their fire, which subjected 
the assailants to material disadvantages. The British, driven 
from their first position, had retired, and occupied another, 
behind a deep ditch that run out of the Mississippi towards 
the swamp, on the margin of which was a wood-railed fence. 
Here, strengthened by increased numbers, they again opposed 
the advance of our troops. Having waited until they had 
approached sufficiently near to be discovered, from their fast- 
nesses they discharged a fire upon the advancing army. In- 
stantly our battery was formed, and poured destructively upon 
them ; while the infantry, pressing forward, aided in the con- 
flict, which at this point was for some time spiritedly main- 
tained. At this moment a brisk sally was made upon our 
advance, when the marines, unequal to the assault, were 
already giving way. The adjutant-general, and Colonels 
Piatt and Chotard, with a part of the seventh, hastening to 
their support, drove the enemy, and saved the artillery from 
capture. General Jackson, perceiving the decided advantages 
which were derived from the position they occupied, ordered 
their line to be charged, It was obeyed with cheerfulness, 
and executed with promptness. Pressing on, our troops 
gained the ditch, and pouring across it a well-aimed fire, com- 
pelled them to retreat, and to abandon their intrenchment. 
The plain on which they were contending was cut to pieces 
by races from the river, to convey the water to the swamp. 
The enemy were therefore very soon enabled to occupy another 



DEFENSE OF NEW-ORLEANS. 91 

position, equally favorable with the one whence they had been 
just driven, where they formed for battle, and for some time 
gallantly maintained themselves ; but which at length, and 
after stubborn resistance, they were forced to yield. 

The enemy, discovering the firm and obstinate advance 
made by the right wing of the American army, and presuming 
perhaps that its principal strength was posted on the road, 
formed the intention of attacking violently the left. Obliquing 
for this purpose, an attempt was made to turn it. At this 
moment, Daquin's and the battalion of city guards, being 
marched up and formed on the left of the forty-fourth regi- 
ment, met and repulsed them. 

The particular moment of the contest prevented many of 
those benefits which might have been derived from the artil- 
lery. The darkness of the night was such, that the blaze of 
the enemy's musketry was the only light aflbrded by which 
to determine their position, or be capable of taking our own 
to advantage ; yet, notwithstanding, it greatly annoyed them, 
whenever it could be brought to bear. Directed by Lieuten- 
ant Spotts, a vigilant and skillful officer, with men to aid him 
w^ho looked to nothing but a zealous discharge of their duty, 
the most essential and important services were rendered. 

The enemy had been thrice assailed and beaten, and for 
nearly a mile compelled to yield their ground. They had now 
retired, and, if found, were to be sought for amid the dark- 
ness of the night. The general determined to halt, and 
ascertain Coffee's position and success, previously to waging 
the battle further ; for as yet no communication had passed 
between them. He entertained no doubt, from the brisk firing 
in that direction, that he had been warmly engaged ; but this 
had now nearly subsided : the Caroline, too, had almost ceased 
her operations; it being only occasionally that the noise of 
her guns disclosed the little opportunity she possessed of act- 
ing efficiently. 

The express despatched to General Jackson from the left 
wing having reached him, he determined to prosecute the 
successes he had gained no further. The darkness of the 
night, the confusion into which his own division had been 
thrown, and a similar disaster produced on the part of Coffee, 



92 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

all pointed to the necessity of retiring from the field, and 
abandoning the contest. The bravery and firmness ah-eady 
displayed by his troops, had induced with him a belief that by 
pressing forward he might capture the whole British army: at 
any rate, he considered it but a game of venture and hazard, 
which, if unsuccessful, could not occasion his own defeat. 
If incompetent to its execution, and superior numbers or supe- 
rior discipline should compel him to recede from the effort, he 
well knew the enemy would not have temerity enough to 
attempt pursuit. The extreme darkness, their entire ignorance 
of the situation of the country, and an apprehension lest their 
forces might be greatly outnumbered, afforded sufficient rea- 
sons on which to ground a belief that, although beaten from 
his purpose, he would yet have it in his power to retire in 
safety; but on arrival of the express from General CofFee^ 
learning the strong position to which the enemy had retired, 
and that a part of the left wing had been detached, and w^ere 
in all probability captured, he determined to retire from the 
contest, nor attempt a further prosecution of his successes. 
General Coffee was accordingly directed to withdraw, and take 
a position at Larond's plantation, where the line had been 
first formed ; and thither the troops on the right were also or- 
dered to be marched. 

The last charge made by the left wing had separated from 
the main body Colonels D3^er and Gibson, with two hundred 
men, and Captain Beal's company of riflemen. What might 
be their fate, whether they were captured or had effected their 
retreat, was, at this time, altogether uncertain ; be that as it 
might. Coffee's command was thereby considerably weakened. 

Colonel Dyer, who commanded the extreme left, on clearing 
the grove, after the enemy had retired, Vv'as marching in a di- 
rection where he expected to find General Coffee ; he very 
soon discovered a force in front, and halting his men, hastened 
towards it ; arriving within a short distance, he was hailed, 
ordered to stop, and report to whom he belonged : Dyer, and 
Gibson, his lieutenant-colonel, who had accompanied him, ad- 
vanced and stated they were of Coffee's brigade ; by this time 
they had arrived within a short distance of the line, and per- 
ceiving that the name of the brigade they had stated was not 



DEFENSE OF NEW-ORLEANS. 93 

'?anderstood, their apprehensions were awakened lest it might 
"be a detachment of the enemy ; in this opinion they were im- 
mediately confirmed, and wheeling to return, were fired on and 
pursued. Gibson had scarcely started when he fell ; before 
he could recover, a soldier quicker than the rest had reached 
him, and pinned him to the ground with his bayonet ; fortu- 
nately the stab had but slightly wounded him, and he was on- 
ly held by his clothes ; thus pinioned, and perceiving others 
to be briskly advancing, but a moment was left for delibera- 
tion; making a violent exertion, and springing to his feet, he 
threw his assailant to the ground, and made good his retreat. 
Colonel Dyer had retreated about fifty yards, when his horse 
dropped dead ; entangled in the fall, and slightly wounded in 
the thigh, there was little prospect of relief, for the enemy 
were briskly advancing ; his men being near at hand, he or- 
dered them to advance and fire, which checked their approach, 
and enabled him to escape. Being now at the head of his 
command, — perceiving an enemy in a direction he had not ex- 
pected, and uncertain how or where he might find General 
Coffee, he determined to seek him to the right, and moving on 
with his little band, forced his way through the enemy's lines, 
with the loss of sixty-three of his men, who were killed and 
taken. Captain Beal, with equal bravery, charged through 
the enemy, carrying off soiue prisoners, and losing several of 
his own company. 

This reinforcement of the British had arrived from Bayou 
Bienvenu after night. The boats that landed the first detach- 
ment had proceeded back to the shipping, and having return- 
ed, were on their way up the Bayou, when they heard the 
guns of the Caroline : moving hastily on to the assistance of 
those who had debarked before them, they reached the shore, 
and knowing nothing of the situation of the two armies, du- 
ring the engagement, advanced in the rear of General Coffee's 
brigade. Coming in contact with Calonel Dyer and Captain 
Beal, they filed off to the left, and reached the British lines. 

This detached part of Coffee's brigade, unable to unite with 
or find him, retired to the place where they had first formed, 
and joined Colonel Hinds' dragoons, which had remained on 



94 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

the ground where the troops had first dismounted, that they 
might cover their retreat if it hecame necessary. 

Jackson had gone into this hattle confident of success ; and 
his arrangements were such as would have ensured it even to 
a much greater extent, but for the intervention of circumstan- 
ces that were not and could not be foreseen. The Caroline 
had given her signals and commenced the battle a little too 
early, before Coffee had reached and taken his position, and 
before every thing was fully in readiness to attain the objects 
designed ; but it was chiefly owing to the confusion introduced 
at first into the ranks which checked the rapidity of his ad- 
vance, — gave the enemy time for preparation, and prevented 
his division from uniting with the right wing of General Cof- 
fee's brigade. 

Colonel Hinds, with one hundred and eighty dragoons, was 
not brought into action during the night. Interspersed as the 
plain was with innumerable ditches, diverging in different di- 
rections, it was impossible that cavalry could act to any kind 
of advantage ; they were now formed in advance, to watch, 
until morning, the movements of the enemy. 

From the experiments just made, Jackson believed it would 
be in his power, on renewing the attack, to capture the Brit- 
ish army : he concluded, therefore, to order down to his as- 
sistance General Carroll, with his division, and to assail them 
again at the dawn of day. Directing Governor Claiborne to 
remain at his post, with the Louisiana militia, for the defense 
of an important pass to the city, the Gentilly road, he despatch- 
ed an express to Carroll, slating to him, that if there had been 
no appearance of a force during the night, in the direction of 
Chef Menteur, to hasten and join him with the troops under 
his command ; this order was executed by one o'clock in the 
morning. Previously, however, to his arrival, a different de- 
termination was made. From prisoners who had been brought 
in, and through deserters, it was ascertained that the strength 
of the enemy during the battle was four thousand, and, with 
the reinforcements v/hich had reached them after its commence- 
ment, and during the action, their force could not be less than 
six ; at any rate, it would greatly exceed his own, even after 



DEFENSE OF NEW-ORLEANS. 95 

tlie Tennessee division should be added. Although very de- 
cided advantages had been obtained, yet the}^ had been pro- 
cured under circumstances that might be wholly lost in a con- 
test waged in open day, between forces so disproportionate, 
and by undisciplined troops against veteran soldiers. Jackson 
Avell knew it was incumbent upon him to act a part entirely 
defensive: should the attempt to gain and destroy the city 
succeed, numerous difficulties would present themselves, which 
might be avoided so long as he could hold the enemy in check, 
and halt him in his designs. Prompted by these considerations 
— that it was important to pursue a course calculated to'assure 
safety, and believing it attainable in no way so effectually as 
in occupying some point, and by the strength he might give it, 
compensate for the inferiority of his numbers and their want 
of discipline, he determined to forbear all further offensive ef- 
forts until he could more certainly discover the views of the 
enemy, and until the Kentucky troops, which had not yet ar- 
rived, should reach him. Pursuing this idea, at four o'clock 
in the morning, having ordered Colonel Hinds to occupy the 
ground he was then abandoning, and to observe the enemy 
closely, he fell back, and formed his line behind a deep ditch, 
that stretched to the swamp at right angles from the river. 
There were two circumstances strongly recommendljg the im- 
portance of this place : — the swamp, which from the highlands 
at Baton Rouge skirts the river at irregular distances, and in 
many places is almost impervious, had here approached with- 
in four hundred yards of the Mississippi, and hence, from the 
narrowness of the pass, was more easily to be defended ; add- 
ed to which, there was a deep canal, whence the dirt being 
thrown on the upper side, already formed a tolerable w^ork of 
defense. Behind this his troops were formed, and proper 
m.easures adopted for increasing its strength, with a determi- 
nation never to abandon it ; but there to resist to the last, and 
valiantly to defend those rights which were sought to be out- 
raged and destroyed. 

Promptitude and decision, and activity in execution, consti- 
tuted the leading traits of Jackson's character. No sooner 
had he resolved on the course which he thought necessary to 
be pursued, than with every possible despatch he hastened to 



96 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

its completion. Before him was an army proud of its name, 
and distinguished for its deeds of valor. Opposed to which 
was his own unbending spirit, and an inferior, undisciphned, 
and unarmed force. He conceived, therefore, that his was a 
defensive policy, that by prudence and caution he would be 
able to preserve what offensive operation might have a ten- 
dency to endanger. Hence, with activity and industry, based 
on a hope of ultimate success, he commenced his plan of de- 
fense, determining to fortify himself as effectually as the peril 
and pressure of the moment would permit. When to expect 
attack he could not tell ; preparation and readiness to meet it 
was for him to determine on, all else was for the enemy. 
Promptly, therefore, he proceeded with his system of defense ; 
and with such thoughtfulness and anxiety, that until the night 
of the 27th, when his line was completed, he never slept, or 
for a moment closed his eyes. Resting his hope of safety 
here, he was everywhere, through the night, present, encour- 
aging his troops, and hastening a completion of the work. 
The concern and excitement produced by the mighty object 
before him, w^ere such as overcame the demand of nature, 
and for five days and four nights he was without sleep, and 
constantly employed. His line of defense being completed on 
the night of the 27th, he, for the first time since the arrival 
of the enemy, retired to rest and repose. 

The soldier who has stood the shock of battle, and knows 
what slight circumstances oftentimes produce decided advan- 
tages, will be able properly to appreciate the events of this 
night. Although the dreadful carnage of the 8th of January, 
hereafter to be told, was in fact the finishing blow that struck 
down the towering hopes of the invaders, and put an end to 
the contest, yet in the battle of the 23d is there to be found 
abundant cause why success resulted to our arms, and safety 
was given to the country. The British had reached the Mis- 
sissippi without the fire of a gun, and encamped upon its 
banks as composedly as if they had been seated on their 
own soil, and at a distance from all danger. These were cir- 
cumstances which awakened a belief that they expected little 
opposition — were certain of success — and that the troops with 
whom they were to contend would scarcely venture to resist 



DEFENSE OF NEW-ORLEANS. 97 

■them : resting thus confidently in the expectation of success, 
.they would the next day have moved forward and succeeded 
in the accomplishment of their designs.. Jackson, convinced 
that an early impression was essential to ultimate success, had 
resolved to assail them at the moment of their landing, and 
*' attack them in their first position ;" we have, therefore, seen 
him, with a force inferior by one-half to that of the enemy, 
at an unexpected moment break into their camp, and with his 
undisciphned yeomanry drive before him the pride of England 
and the conquerors of Europe. It was an event that could 
not fail to destroy all previous theories, and establish a con- 
clusion which our enemy had not before formed, that they 
were contending against valor inferior to none they had seen 
— before which their own bravery had not stood, nor their 
skill availed them. It had the effect of satisfying them, that 
the quantity and kind of troops it was in our power here 
to wield, must be different from any thing that had been rep- 
resented to them ; for much as they had heard of the courage 
of the man w^ith whom they were contending, they could not 
suppose that a general, having a country to defend, and a rep- 
utation to preserve, w^ould venture to attack on their own cho- 
sen ground a greatly superior army, and one which, by the 
numerous victories it had achieved, had already acquired a 
fame in arms ; they were convinced that his force must greatly 
surpass what they had expected, and be composed of materials 
different from what they had imagined. 

The American troops which were actually engaged did not 
amount to two thousand men ; they consisted of part of Cof- 
fee's brigade and Captain Beal's company, - - 648 

The 7th and 44th regiments, 763 

Company of marines and artillery, ... 82 

Plauche's and Daquin's battalions, . . . . 488 
And the Mississippi dragoons under Colonel Hinds, not 

in the action, 186 

2167; 

which for more than an hour maintained a severe conflict with 

a force of four or five thousand, and retired in safety from the 

ground, with the loss of twenty-four killed, and one hundred 

7 



98 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

and fifteen wounded, and seventy-four made prisoners ; while 
the killed, wounded, and prisoners of the enemy were not less 
than four hundred. 

Our officers and soldiers executed every order w^ith prompti- 
tude, and nobly sustained their country's character. Lieuten- 
ant-colonel Lauderdale, of Coffee's brigade, an officer of great 
promise, and on whom every reliance was placed, fell at his 
post, and at his duty ; he had entered the service, and descend- 
ed the river with the volunteers under General Jackson, in the 
winter of 1812 — passed through all the hardships and difficul- 
ties of the Creek war, and had ever manifested a readiness to 
act wdien his country needed his services. Young, brave, and 
skillful, he had already afforded evidences of a capacity which 
might, in future, have become useful ; his exemplary conduct 
both in civil and military life, had acquired for him a respect 
that rendered his fall a subject of general regret. Lieutenant 
M'Lellaiid, a valuable young officer of the 7th, was also 
among the number of the slain. 

Coffee's brigade, during the action, imitating the example of 
their commander, bravely contended, and ably supported the 
character they had previously established. The unequal con- 
test in which they vrere engaged never occurred to them ; nor, 
for a moment checked the rapidity of their advance. Had the 
British known that they were merely riflemen, and without 
bayonets, a firm stand v/ould have arrested their progress,^and 
destruction or capture would have been the inevitable conse- 
quence ; but this circumstance being unknown, every charge 
they made was crowned with success, producing discomfiture, 
and routing and driving superior numbers before them. Offi- 
cers, from the highest to inferior grades, discharged what had 
been expected of them. Ensign Leach, of the 7th regiment, 
being wounded through the body, still remained at his post 
and in the performance of his duty. Colonel Reuben Kemper, 
enterprising and self-collected, amid the confusion introduced 
on the left wing, found himself at the head of a handful of 
men, detached from the main body, and in the midst of a party 
of the enemy: never did any man better exemplify the truth of 
the position, that discretion is sometimes the better part of 
valor : to attempt resistance was idle, and could only eventu- 



Defense of xew-orleaxs. 99 

ate in destruction : with a mind unclouded by tlie peril that 
surrounded him, he sought and procured his safety tlirough 
stratagem. Calling to a group of soldiers who were near, in a 
positive tone, he demanded of them where their regiment was: 
lost themselves, they were unable to answer ; hut supposing 
him one of their own officers, they assented to his ordeis, and 
followed him to his own line, where they were made prisoners. 

The 7th regiment, comimanded by Major Piere, and the 44th, 
under Maj. Baker, aided by Liaj. Butler, gallantly m.aintained 
the conflict — forced the enemy from every secure position he 
attempted to occupy, and drove him a mile from the first point 
of attack. Confiding in themselves, and in their general, who 
•was constantly with them, exposed to danger and in the midst 
of the fight, inspiring by his ardor and encouraging by his ex- 
ample, they advanced to the conflict, nor evinced a disposition 
to leave it until the prudence of their commander directed them 
to retire. 

From the violence of the assault already made, tlie fears of 
the British had been greatly excited ; to keep their apprehen- 
sions alive was considered important, with a view partially to 
destroy the overweening confidence with w^hich they had ar- 
rived on our shores, and to compel them to act for a time upon the 
defensive. To effect this, General Coffee, with his brigade, 
was ordered down on the morning of the 24th, to unite with 
Colonel Hinds, and made a show in the rear of Lacoste's plan- 
tation. The enemy, not yet recovered of the panic produced 
by the assault of the preceding evening, already believed it was 
in contemplation to urge another attack, and immediately formed 
themselves to repel it; but Coffee, having succeeded in recov- 
ering some of his horses, which were wandering along the 
margin of the swamp, and in regaining part of the clothing 
which his troops had lost the night before, returned to the line, 
leaving them to conjecture the objects of his movement. 

The scanty supply of clothes and blankets that remained to 
the soldiers, from their long and exposed marches, had been 
left where they dismounted to meet the enemy. Their numbers 
were too limited, and the strength of their opponents too well 
ascertained, for any part of their force to remain and take care 
of what was left behind ; it was so essential to hasten on, 



100 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

reach their destination, and be ready to act when the signal 
from the Caroline should announce their co-operation neces- 
sary, that no time was afforded them to secure their horses, — 
which were turned loose, and their recovery trusted entirely to 
chance. Although many were regained, many were lost ; 
while most of the men remained v.'ith but a single suit, to en- 
counter, in the open field, and in swamps covered with water, 
the hardships of a camp, and the severity of winter. It is a 
circumstance v/hich entitles them to much credit, that under 
privations so severely oppressive, complaints or murmurs were 
never heard. This state of things fortunately was not of long 
continuance. The story of their sufferings and misfortunes 
was no sooner known, than the legislature appropriated a sum 
of money for their relief, which was greatly increased by sub- 
scriptions in the city and neighborhood. Materials being pur- 
chased, the ladies, with that christian charity and warmth of 
heart characteristic of their sex, at once exerted themselves in 
removing their distresses; all their industry vras called into 
action, and in a little time the .suffering soldier was relieved. 
Such generous conduct, in extending assistance at a moment 
when it was so much needed, while it conferred on those fe- 
males the highest honor, could not fail to nerve the arm of the 
brave with new zeal for the defense of their benefactresses. 
This distinguished mark of their patriotism and benevolence 
is still remembered ; and often, as these valiant men are heard to 
recount the dangers they have passed, and vrith peculiar pride 
to dwell on the mingled honors and hardships of the campaign, 
they breathe a sentiment of gratitude to those who conferred 
upon them such distinguished marks of their kindness, and 
who, by timely interference, alleviated their misfortunes and 
their sufferings. 

To present a check, and keep up a show^ of resistance, de- 
tachm.ents of light troops were occasionally kept in front of 
the line, assailing and harrassing the enemy's advanced posts, 
whenever an opportunity was offered of acting to advantage. 
Every moment that could be gained, and every delay that could 
be extended to the enemy's attempts to reach the city, was of 
the utmost importance. The works were rapidly progressing, 
and hourly increasing in strength. The militia of the state 



DEFENS£ OF NEW-ORLEANS. 101 

were every day arriving, and every day the prospect of suc- 
cessful opposition was brightening. 

The enemy still remained at their first encampment. To be 
in readiness to repel an assault when attempted, the most ac- 
tive exertions w^ere made on the 24th and 25th. The canal 
covering the front of our line was deepened and widened, and 
a strong mud wall formed of the earth that had been originally 
thrown out. To prevent any approach until his system of 
defense should be in a state of greater forwardness, Jackson 
ordered the levee to be cut, about a hundred yards below the 
point he had occupied. The river being very high, a broad 
stream of water passed rapidly through the plain, of the depth 
of thirty or forty inches, which prevented any approach of 
troops on foot. Embrasures were formed and two pieces of 
artillery, under the command of Lieutenant Spotts, early on 
the morning of the 24th, were placed in a position to rake the 
road leading up the levee. 

He was under the constant apprehension lest, in spite of his 
exertions below, the city might, through some other route, be 
reached and destroyed ; and those fears were increased this 
day by a report that a strong force had arrived — debarked at 
the head of Lake Borgne, and compelled an abandonment of 
the defense at Chef Menteur. This, however, proved to be 
unfounded : the enemy had not appeared in that direction, nor 
had the officer to whom was intrusted the command of this 
fort, so much relied on, forgotten his duty or forsaken his 
post. Acting upon the statement that Major Lacoste had reti- 
red from the fort, and fallen back on Bayou St. John, and in- 
censed that orders which, from their importance, should have 
been faithfully executed, had been thus lightly regarded, he 
hastened to inform him what he had understood, and to forbid 
his leaving his position. " The battery I have placed under 
your command must be defended at all hazards. In you, and 
the valor of your troops, I repose every confidence — let me 
not be deceived. With us every thing goes on well ; the ene- 
my has not yet advanced. Our troops have covered themselves 
•with glory : it is a noble example, and worthy to be followed 
by all. Maintain your post, nor ever think of retreating." 
To give additional strength to a place deemed so important, 



102 LIFE OF ANDRE^V JACKSON. 

inspire confidence and insure safety, Colonel Dyer, with two 
hundred men, was ordered there, to assist in its defense, and 
act as videttes, in advance of the occupied points. * 

General Morgan who, at the English turn, commanded the 
fort, on the east bank of the river, was instructed to proceed 
as near the enemy's camp as prudence and safety would per- 
mit, and by destroying the levee, to let in the waters of the 
M!ssissi])pi between them. The execution of this order, and 
a similar one previously made below the line of defense, had 
entirely insulated the enemy, and prevented his march against 
either place. On the 26th, hovv^ever, the commanding general, 
fearing for the situation of Morgan, who, from the British 
occupying the intermediate ground, was entirely detached from 
his camp, directed him to abandon his encampment, carry off 
such of the cannon as might be wanted, and throw the re- 
mainder into the river, where they could be again recovered 
vrhen th? waters receded; to retire to the other side of the 
river, and assume a position on the right bank, nearly opposite 
to his line, and have it fortified. This movement was impo- 
sed by tne relative disposition of the two armies. Necessity, 
not choice, made it essential that St. Leon should be aban- 
doned. 

From every intelligence obtained through deserters and pris- 
oners, it was evident that the British fleet w^ould make an effort 
to ascend the river, and co-operate with the troops already 
landed. Lest this, or a diversion in a different quarter, might 
be attempted, exertions were made to be able to resist at all 
points, and to interpose such defenses on the Mississippi as 
might assure protection. The forts on the river, well support- 
ed with brave men and heavy pieces of artillery, might, per- 
haps, have the effect to deter their shipping from venturing in 
that direction, and dispose them to seek some safer route, if 
any could be discovered. Pass Barrataria was best calculated 
for this purpose, and here, in all probability, it was expected 
the effort might be made. The difficulty of ascending the Mis- 
sissippi, from the rapidity of the current, its winding course, 
and the ample protection already given at forts St. Philip and 
Bourbon, were circumstances to which it was not to be infer- 
red the British v/ere strangers : nor was it to be expected that. 



DEFENSE OF NEW-ORLEANS. 103 

witli a knowledge of them, they would venture here the suc- 
cess of an enterprise on which so much depended. It was a 
more rational conjecture that they would seek a passage 
through Barrataria, proceed up on the right bank of the riv- 
er, and gain a position whence, co-operating with the forces 
on the east side, they might drive our troops from the line 
they had formed, and, at less hazard, succeed in the accom- 
plishment of their designs. Major Reynolds was accordingly 
ordered thither, with instructions to place the bayous emptying 
through this pass in the best possible state of defense — to oc- 
cupy and strengthen the island — to mount sufficient ordnance, 
and draw a chain within cannon-shot across, the more effect- 
ually to guard the route, and protect it from approach. Lafitte, 
who had been heretofore promised pardon for the outrages com- 
mitted against the laws of the United States, and who had already 
shown a lively zeal on behalf of his adopted country, was 
also despatched with Reynolds. He was selected, because, 
from the proofs already given, no doubt was entertained of his 
fidelity, and because his knowledge of the topography and 
precise situation of this section of the state was remarkably 
correct : it w^as the point where he had constantly rendezvous- 
ed, during the time of cruising against the merchant vessels of 
Spain, under a commission obtained at Carthagena, and where 
he had become perfectly acquainted with every inlet and en- 
trance to the gulf through v\iiich a passage could be effected. 
With these arrangements — treason apart — all anxiously 
alive to the interest of the country, and disposed to protect it, 
there was little room to apprehend or fear disaster. To use 
the General's own expression on another occasion, " the surest 
defense, and one which seldom failed of success, was a ram- 
part of high-minded and brave men." That there were some 
of this description with him on whom he could safely rely 
in moments of extreme peril, he well knew ; but that there 
were many strangers to him and to danger, and who had ne- 
ver been called to act in those situations where death, stalking 
in hideous round, appals and unnerves even the most resolute, 
was equally certain ; whether they would contend with manly 
firmness, support the cause in which they had embarked, and 
realize his anxious wishes on the subject, could be only known 



104 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

in the moment of conflict and trial ; when, if disappointed in 
his expectations, the means of retrieving the evil would be 
fled, and every thing lost in the result. 

As yet the enemy were uninformed of the position of Jack- 
son. What was his situation — what was intended — whether 
ofiensive or defensive operations would be pursued, were cir- 
cumstances on which they possessed no correct knovrledge,- 
nor could it be obtained; still their exertions w^ere unremitting 
to have all things prepared, and in readiness to urge their de- 
signs whenever the moment for action should arrive. They 
had been constantly engaged since their landing, in procuring- 
from their shipping every thing necessary to ulterior opera- 
tions. A complete command on the lakes, and possession of 
a point on the margin, presented an uninterrupted ingress and 
egress, and afforded the opportunity of conveying whatever- 
was wanted, in perfect safety, to their camp. The height of 
the Mississippi, and the discharge of water through the open- 
ings made in the levee, had given an increased depth to the 
canal, from which they had first debarked — enabled them to 
advance their boats much farther in the direction of their en- 
campment, and to bring up, with greater convenience, their 
artillery, bombs, and munitions. Thus engaged during the 
first three days after their arrival, early on the morning of the 
27th a battery was discovered on the bank of the river, which 
had been erected during the preceding night, and on which 
were mounted several pieces of heavy ordnance ; from this 
position a fire was opened on the Caroline schooner, lying un- 
der the opposite shore. 

After the battle of the 23d, in which this vessel had so ef- 
fectually aided, she had passed to the opposite side of the riv- 
er, where she had since lain. Her services were too highly 
appreciated not to be again desired, should the enemy endeav- 
or to advance. Her present situation was considered truly ark 
unsafe one, but it had been essayed in vain to advance her 
higher up the stream. No favorable breeze had yet arisen to- 
aid her in stemming the current ; and towing, and other reme- 
dies, had been already resorted to, but without success. Her 
safety might have been ensured b)^ floating her down the riv- 
er, and placing her under cover of the guns of the fort ; but it 



DEFENSE OF NEW- ORLEANS. 105 

was preferred, as a matter of policy, to risk her where she was, 
still hourly calculating that a favorable wind might relieve her, 
rather than, by dropping her with the current, lose those ben- 
efits which, against an advance of the enemy, it might be in- 
her power so completely to extend. Commodore Patterson 
had left her on the 26th, by the orders of the commanding 
general, when Captain Henly made a further but ineffectual 
effort to force her up the current, near to the line, for the double 
purpose of its defense and for her own safety. 

These attempts to remove her being discovered at daylight 
on the morning of the 27th, a battery, mounting five guns, 
opened upon her, discharging bombs and red-hot shot ; it was 
spiritedly answered, but without affecting the battery ; there 
being but a long twelve-pounder that could reach. The sec- 
ond fire had lodged a hot shot in the hold, directly under her 
cables, whence it could not be removed, and where it immedi- 
ately communicated fire to the schooner. The shot from the 
battery were constantly taking effect, firing her in different 
places, and otherwise producing material injury ; while the 
blaze, already kindled under her cables, was rapidly extending- 
its ravages. A well-grounded apprehension of her command- 
er, that she could be no longer defended, — the flames bursting 
forth in different parts, and fast increasing — induced a fear 
lest the magazine should be soon reached, and every thing de- 
stroyed. One of his crew being killed, and six wounded, and 
not a glimmering of hope entertained that she could be pre- 
served, orders were given to abandon her. The crew reached 
the shore in safety, and in a short time afterward she blew 
up. 

Although thus unexpectedly deprived of so material a de- 
pendence for successful defense, an opportunity was soon pre- 
sented of using her brave crew to advantage. Gathering con- 
fidence from what had been just eftected, the enemy left their 
encampment, and m.oved in the direction of our line. Their 
numbers had been increased, and Major-general Sir Edward 
Packenham now commanded in person. Early on the 28th, 
his columns commenced their advance to storm our works. 
At the distance of half a mile, their heavy artillery opened, 
and quantities of bombs, balls, and congreve rockets were dis-- 



108 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

obliquely to, and not very remote from our line. Henderson^ 
with a detachment of two hundred men, who was sent out by 
General Carroll to drive them from a position whence they 
were effecting some injury, and greatly annoying our troops. 
Had he advanced in the manner directed, he would have been 
less exposed, and enabled more effectually to have secured the 
object intended : but, misunderstanding the order, he proceeded 
in a different route, and fell a victim to his error. Instead of 
marching in the direction of the wood, and turning the enemy, 
which might have cut off their retreat, he proceeded in front, 
tovfards the river, leaving them in rear of the fence, and him- 
self and his detachment open and exposed. His mistake being 
perceived from the line, he was called by the adjutant-general, 
and directed to return ; but the noise of the waters, through 
which they were wading, prevented any communication. 
Having reached a knoll of dry ground, he formed, and at- 
tempted the execution of his order ; but soon fell by a wound 
in the head. Deprived of their commander, and perceiving: 
their situation hazardous and untenable, the detachment re- 
treated to the line, with the loss of their colonel and live men. 

While this advance was made, a column of the enemy was 
threatening an attack on our extreme left. To frustrate the 
attempt, Coffee was ordered with his riflemen to hasten through 
the woods, and check their approach. The enemy, although 
greatly superior to him in numbers, no sooner discovered his 
movement than they retired, and abandoned the attack they 
had previously meditated. 

A supposed disaffection in New-Orleans, and an enemy in 
front, were circumstances well calculated to excite unpleasant 
forebodings. General Jackson believed it necessary and es- 
sential to his security, while contending with avovv'ed foes,, 
not to be wholly inattentive to dangers lurking at home ; but, 
by guarding vigilantly, to be able to suppress any treasonable 
purpose the moment it should be developed, and before it 
should have time to mature. Previously, therefore, to de- 
parting from the city, on the evening of the 23d, he had 
ordered Major Butler, his aid, to remain with the guards, and 
be vigilant that nothing transpired in his absence calculated 
to operate injuriously. His fears that there were many of tha 



DEFEKSE OF NEW-ORLEANS. 109 

inhabitants who felt no attachment to the government, and 
Avoiild not scruple to surrender whenever, prompted by their 
interest, it should become necessary, has been already noticed. 

In this belief, subsequent circumstances evinced there was 
510 mistake, and showed that to his assiduity and energy is to 
he ascribed that the country was protected and saved. It is a 
fact, which was disclosed on making an exchange of prisoners, 
that, despite of all the efforts made to prevent it, the enemy 
were daily and constantly apprized of every thing that trans- 
pired in our camp. Every arrangement, and every change of 
position, was immediately communicated. On the day subse- 
quent to a contest on the lakes, on the 14th December, Mr. 
Shields, purser in the navy, had been despatched with a flag, 
to Cat island, accompanied by Dr. Murrell, for the purpose of 
alleviating the situation of our wounded, and to effect a nego- 
tiation, by which they should be liberated on parole. We 
are not aware that such an application militated against the 
usages and customs of war : if not, the flag of truce should 
have been respected ; nor ought its bearer to have been de- 
tained as a prisoner. Admiral Cochrane's pretended fear that 
it was a wile, designed to ascertain his strength and situation, 
is far from presenting any sufiicient excuse for so wanton an 
outrage on propriety and the rules of war. If this were appre- 
hended, could not the messengers have been met at a distance 
from the fleet, and ordered back without a near approach ? 
Had this been done, no information could have been gained, 
and the object designed to be secured by the detention would 
have been answered, without infringing that amicable inter- 
course between contending armies, which, when violated or 
disregarded, opens a door to brutal and savage warfare. Find- 
ing they did not return, the cause of it was at once correctly 
divined. 

The British admiral was very solicitous, and resorted to va- 
rious means, to obtain from these gentlemen information of the 
strength and condition, and disposition of our army; but so 
cautious a reserve was maintained, that from them nothing 
could be elicited. Shields was perceived to be quite deaf, 
and calculating on some advantage to be derived from this cir- 
cumstance, he and the doctor were placed at night in the green- 



110 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

room, where any conversation wliicli occurred between them- 
could readily be heard. Suspecting, perhaps, something of 
the kind, after having retired, and every thing was seemingly 
still, they began to speak of their situation — the circumstances 
of their being detained, and of the prudent caution with which, 
they had guarded themselves against communicating any in- 
formation to the British admiral. But, continued Shields, how 
greatly these gentlemen will be disappointed in their expecta- 
tions, for Jackson, with the twenty thousand troops he now 
has, and the reinforcements from Kentucky, which must speed- 
ily reach him, v/ill be able to destroy any force that can be 
landed from these ships. Every word was heard and treas- 
ured, and not supposing there was any design, or that he pre- 
sumed himself overheard, they were beguiled by it, and at 
once concluded our force to be as great as it was represented ; 
and hence, no doubt, arose the reason of that prudent care and 
caution with which the enemy afterward proceeded ; for 
" nothing," remarked a British officer, at the close of the inva- 
sion, " was hept a secret from us, except your numbers ; this 
although diligently sought after, could never be procured." 

Between the 23d, and the attack on the 28th, to carry our 
line, Major Butler, who still remained at his post in the city, 
was applied to by Fulwar Skipwith, at that time Speaker of 
the Senate, to ascertain the commanding general's views, pro- 
vided he should be driven from his line of encampment, and 
compelled to retreat through the city ; would he in that event 
destroy it ? It was, indeed, a curious inquiry from one who, 
having spent his life in serving his country in different capa- 
cities, might better have understood the duty of a subordi- 
nate officer; and that even, if, from his situation. Major Butler 
had so far acquired the conlidence of his general as to have be- 
come acquainted with his views and designs, he was not at 
liberty to divulge them, without destroying confidence and act- 
ing criminally. On asking the cause of the inquiry, Mr. Skip- 
with replied, it was rumored, and so understood, that if driven 
from his position, and made to retreat upon the city. General 
Jackson had it in contemplation to lay it in ruins; the legisla- 
ture, he said, desired information on this subject, that if such 
were his intentions, they might, by offering terms of capitula- 



DEFENSE OF KEW-OELEANS. Ill 

lion to the enemy, avert so serious a calamity. That a senti- 
ment having for its object a surrender of the city, should be 
entertained by this body was scarcely credible ; yet a few days 
brought the certainty of it more fully to view, and showed 
that they were already devising plans to insure the safety of 
themselves and property, even at any sacrifice. "While the 
general was hastening along the line, from ordering Coffee, as 
we have just observed, against a column of the British on 
the extreme left, he was hailed by Mr. Duncan, one of his 
volunteer aids, and informed that already it was agitated, 
secretly, by the members of the legislature, to offer terms of 
capitulation to the enemy, and proffer a surrender, and that 
Gov. Claiborne awaited his orders on the subject. Poised 
as was the result, the safety or fall of the city resting in 
uncertainty, although it was plainly to be perceived, that, 
with a strong army before them^ no such resolution could 
be carried into effect, yet it might be productive of evil, and 
in the end bring about the most fatal consequences. Even 
the disclosure of such a wish on the part of the legislature 
might create parties, excite opposition in the army, and in- 
spire the enemy w^ith renewed confidence. The Tennessee 
forces, and Mississippi volunteers, it was not feared would 
be effected by the measure ; but it might detach the Louis- 
iana militia, and even extend itself to the ranks of the reg- 
ular troops. Jackson was greatly incensed, that those whose 
safety he had so much at heart, should be seeking, under 
the authority of office, to mar his best exertions. He was, 
however, too warmly pressed at the moment, for the battle 
was raging, to give it the attention its importance merited ; 
but, availing himself of the first respite from the violence 
of the attack waged against him, he apprized Governor Clai- 
borne of what he had heard ; — ordered him closely to watch 
tlie conduct of the legislature, and the moment a project of 
offering a capitulation to the enemy should be fully disclosed, 
to place a guard at the door and confine them to their cham- 
ber. The Governor, in his zeal to execute the command, and 
from a fear of the consequences involved in such conduct, 
construed as imperative an order which was merely contingent ; 
and placing an armed force at the door of the capitol, prevent- 



112 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

ed the members from convening, and their schemes from ma- 
turing. 

The purport of this order was essentially misconceived by 
the Governor ; or, perhaps, with a view to avoid subsequent 
inconveniences and complaints, was designedly mistaken. 
Jackson's object was not to restrain the legislature in the dis- 
charge of their oiScial duties ; for although he thought that 
such a moment, when the sound of the cannon was constant- 
ly pealing in their ears, was inauspicious to wholesome legisla- 
tion, and that it would have better comported with the state 
of the times for them to abandon their civil duties and appear 
in the field, yet it was a matter indelicate to be proposed : and 
it was hence preferred, that they should adopt whatever course 
might be suggested by their own notions of propriety. This 
sentiment would have been still adhered to ; but when, through 
the communication of Mr. Duncan, they were represented as 
entertaining opinions and schemes adverse to the general in- 
terest and safety of the country, the necessity of a new and 
different course of conduct was at once obvious. But he did 
not order Governor Claiborne to interfere with or prevent them 
from proceeding with their duties ; on the contrary, he was 
instructed, as soon as any thing hostile to the general cause 
should be ascertained, to place a guard at the door, and keep 
the members to their post and to their duty. INIy object in 
this, remarked the General, was, that then they would be able 
to proceed with their business without producing the slightest 
injury : whatever schemes they might entertain would have 
remained with themselves, without the power of circulating 
them to the prejudice of any other interest than their own. 
I had intended to have had them well treated and kindly dealt 
by ; and thus abstracted from everything passing without doors, 
a better opportunity would have been afforded them to enact 
good and wholesome laws; but Governor Claiborne mistook 
my order, and instead of shutting them in doors, contrary to 
my wishes and expectations turned them out. 

Before this he had been called on by a special committee of 
the legislature to know what his course would be, should ne- 
cessity compel him from his position. " If," replied the Gen- 
eral, " I thought the hair of my head could divine what I 



DEFENSE OF NEW-ORLEANS. 113 

should do, forthwith I would cut it off: go back with this an- 
swer ; say to your honorable body, that if disaster does over- 
take me, and the fate of war drives me from my line to 
the city, they may expect to have a very warm session." 
" And what did you design to do," I inquired, "provided you 
had been forced to retreat ?" " I should," he replied, " have 
retreated to the city, fired it, and fought the enemy amid the 
surrounding flames. There were with me men of wealth, 
owners of considerable property, who, in such an event, would 
have been among the foremost to have applied the torch to 
their own buildings; and what they had left undone, I should 
have completed. Nothing for the comfortable maintenance of 
the enemy would have been left in the rear. I would have 
destroyed New-Orleans — occupied a position above on the riv- 
er — cut otF all supplies, and in this way compelled them to 
depart from the country." 

We shall not pretend to ascribe this conduct of the legisla- 
ture to disaffection, or to treasonable motives. The impulse 
that produced it was, no doubt interest — a principle of the 
human mind which strongly sways, and often destroys its 
best conclusions. The disparity of the two armies, in num- 
bers, preparation, and discipline, had excited apprehension, 
and destroyed hope. If Jackson were driven back, and little 
else was looked for, rumor fixed his determination of devoting 
the city to destruction : but even if such were not his inten- 
tion, the wrath and vengeance of the enemy might be fairly 
calculated to be in proportion to the opposition they should 
receive. Although these considerations may somewhat palli- 
ate, they do not justify. The government was represented in 
the person of the commanding General, on v/hom rested all 
responsibility, and whose voice on the subject of resistance 
or capitulation should alone have been heard. In the held 
wera persons who were enduring hardships and straining eve- 
ry nerve for the general safety. A few of the members of 
their own body, too, were there who did not despond. Might 
not patriotism, then have admonished these men, honored as 
they were with the confidence of the people, rather to have 
pursued a course having for its object to keep alive excitement, 
than to have endeavored to introduce fear and paralyze exer- 



114 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

tion .' Such conduct, if productive of nothing worse, was-^ 
well calculated to excite alarm. If the militia, who had been 
hastily drawn to the camp, and who were yet trembling for 
the safety of their families, had been told that a few private 
men of standing in society had expressed their opinions, and 
declared resistance useless, it would without doubt have occa- 
sioned serious apprehensions ; but in a much greater degree 
would they be calculated to arise, when told that the members 
of the Legislature, chosen to preside over the safety and des- 
tinies of the State, after due deliberation, had pronounced all 
attempts at successful opposition vain and ineffectual. 

Here was an additional reason why expedients should be- 
devised, and every precaution adopted, to prevent any com- 
munication by w^hich the slightest intelligence should be had 
of our situation, already indeed sufficiently deplorable. Addi- 
tional guards were posted along the swamp, on both sides of 
the jMississippi, to arrest all intercourse ; w^hile on the river,, 
the common highway, watch boats were constantly plying 
during the night, in different directions, so that a log could 
scarcely float down the stream unperceived. Two flat bot- 
tomed boats, on a dark night, w^ere turned adrift above, to as- 
certain if vigilance were preserved, and whether there would 
be any possibility of esca,ping the guards, and passing in 
safety to the British lines. The light boats discovered them 
on their passage, and on the alarm being given, they were 
opened upon by the Louisiana sloop, and the batteries on the 
shore, and in a few minutes were sunk. In spite, however., 
of every precaution, treason still discovered avenues through 
which to project and execute her nefarious plans, and through 
them was constantly afforded information to the enemy ; car- 
ried to them, no doubt, by adventurous friends, who sought 
and effected their nightly passage through the deepest parts of 
tlie »wamp, where it was impossible for sentinels to be sta- 
tioned.* 

*LetterfTom Charles K. Blanchard to General Jackson. 

Nkw-Orleaw*, March 20, 1S14. 

Sir : I have the honor, agreeably to your request, to state to 
your excellency, in writing, the substance of a conversation that 



DEFENSE OF NEW-ORLEANS. 115 

Great inconvenience was sustained for the want of arms, 
and much anxiety felt, lest the enemy, through their faithful 
adherents, might on this subject also obtain information. To 
prevent it as far as possible, General Jackson endeavored to 
conceal the strength and situation of his army, by suffering 
his reports to be seen by none but himself and the adjutant- 
general. Many of the troops in the field were supplied with 
common guns, which were of little service. The Kentucky 
troops, daily expected, were also understood to be badly pro- 
vided with arms. Uncertain but that the city might yet con- 
tain many articles that would be serviceable, orders were 
issued to the Mayor of New-Orleans, directing him diligently 
to inquire through every store and house, and take possession 
of all the muskets, bayonets, spades, and axes, he could find. 
Understanding too that there were many young men who, 
from different pretexts, had not appeared in the field, he was 
instructed to obtain a register of every man in the city under 
the age of fifty, that measures might be concerted for drawing 
forth those who had hitherto appeared backward in engaging 
in the pending contest. 

Frequent light skirmishes by advanced parties, without ma- 
terial effect on either side, were the only incidents that took 
place for several days. Colonel Hinds, at the head of the 
Mississippi dragoons, on the 30th December, was ordered to 
dislodge a party of the enemy who, under cover of a ditch 
that ran across the plain, were annoying our fatigue parties. 

occurred between Quarter-master Peddie, of the British army, and 
myself, on the 11th inst., on board his Britannic Majesty's ship 
Herald. Quarter-master Peddie observed, that the commanding 
officers of the British forces were daily in the receipt of every in- 
formation from the city of New-Orleans which they migbt require, 
in aid of their operations, for the completion of the objects of the 
expedition : that they were perfectly acquainted with the situation 
of every part of our forces, the manner in which the same was sit- 
uated, the number of our fortifications, their strength, position, &c. 
As to the battery on the left bank of the Mississippi, he described 
its situation, its distance from the main post, and promptly offered 
me a plan of the works. He furthermore stated, that the above 
information was received from seven or eight persons, in the city 
of New-Orleans, from whom he could, at any hour, procure every 
information necessary to promote his Majesty's interest. 



116 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

In his advance, lie was unexpectedly thrown into an ambus- 
cade, and became exposed to the lire of a line which had hith- 
erto lain concealed and unobserved. His collected conduct 
and gallant deportment gained him and his corps the approba- 
tion of the commanding general, and extricated him from the 
danger in which he was placed. The enemy, forced from 
their position, retired, and he returned to the line with the 
loss of live of his men. 

The British were encamped two miles below the American 
army, on a perfect plain, and in full view. Although foiled 
in their attempt to carry our works by the force of their batter- 
ies on the 28th, they yet resolved upon another attack, and 
one which they believed would be more successful. Presum- 
ing their failure to have arisen from not having sufficiently 
strong batteries and heavy ordnance, a more enlarged arrange- 
ment was resorted to, with a confidence of silencing opposi- 
tion, and effecting such breaches in our intrenchment as would 
enable their columns to pass, without being exposed to any 
considerable hazard. The interim between the 28th of De- 
cember and 1st January was accordingly spent in preparing to 
execute their designs. Their boats had been despatched to 
the shipping, and an additional supply of heavy cannon land- 
ed through Bayou Bienvenu, whence they had first debarked. 

During the night of the 31st December they were busily en- 
gaged. An impenetrable fog next morning, which was not 
dispelled until nine o'clock, by concealing their purpose, aided 
them in the plans they were projecting, and gave time for the 
completion of their works. This having disappeared, several 
heavy batteries, at the distance of six hundred yards, mount- 
ing eighteen and twenty-four pound carronades,were present- 
ed to view. No sooner was it sufficiently clear to distinguish 
objects at a distance, than these were opened, and a tremen- 
dous burst of artillery commenced, accompanied with congreve 
rockets, that filled the air in all directions. Our troops, pro- 
tected by a defense, which from their constant labors and 
exertions they believed to be impregnable, unmoved and un- 
disturbed, maintained their ground, and by their skillful man- 
agement, in the end succeeded in dismounting and silencing 
the guns of the enemy. The British, through the friendly in- 



DEFENSE OF NEW-ORLEANS. 117 

terference of some disaffected citizens, having been apprized 
of the situation of the general's quarters, that he dwelt in a 
house at a small distance in the rear of his line of defense, 
directed against it their first and principal efforts, with a view 
to destroy the commander. So great was the number of balls 
tlirown, that in a little while its porticos were beaten down, 
and the building made a complete wreck. In this dishonora- 
ble design they were however disappointed ; for with Jackson 
it was a constant practice, on the lirst appearance of danger, 
not to wait in his quarters watching events, but instantly to 
proceed to the line, and be ready to form his arrangements as 
circumstances might require. Constantly in expectation of a 
charge, he was never absent from the post of danger ; and 
thither he had this morning repaired, at the first sound of the 
cannon, to aid in defense, and inspire his troops with firmness. 
Our guns along the line now opened to repel the assault, and 
a constant roar of cannon, on both sides, continued until near- 
ly noon; when, by the superior skill of our engineers, the 
two batteries formed on the right, next the woods, were near- 
ly beaten down, and many of the guns dismounted, broken, 
and rendered useless. That next the river still continued its 
fire until three o'clock ; when, perceiving all attempts to force 
a breach ineffectual, the enemy gave up the contest and re- 
tired. Every act of theirs discovers a strange delusion, and 
unfolds upon what wild and fanciful grounds all their expecta- 
tions were founded. That the Am-erican troops were well 
posted, and strongly defended by pieces of heavy ordnance, 
mounted along their line, was a fact well known ; yet a be- 
lief was confidently indulged that the undisciplined collection 
which constituted the strength of our army, would be able to 
derive little benefit from such a circumstance ; and that artil- 
lery could produce but slight advantages in the hands of per- 
sons who were strangers to the manner of using it. That ma- 
ny who, from necessity, were called to the direction of the 
guns, were at first entirely unacquainted with their manage- 
ment, is indeed true ; yet the accuracy and precision with 
which they threw their shot, afforded a convincing argument 
either that they possessed the capacity of becoming in a .short 
time well acquainted with the art of gunnery, or that it was a 



120 LIFE^OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

son to reclaim it, and to demand its delivery. The general, 
having heard his complaint, and ascertained from him that he 
was unemployed in any military service, directed a musket to 
he brought to him, and placing it in his hand, ordered him on 
the line, remarking, at the same time, that as he seemed to 
be a man possessed of property, he knew of none who had a 
better right to fight and to defend it. 

The British had again retired to their encampment. It was 
well understood by Jackson that they were in daily expecta- 
tion of considerable reinforcements ; though he rested with 
confidence in the belief that a few more days would also 
bring to his assistance the troops from Kentucky. Each 
party, therefore, v/as busily and constantly engaged in prepa- 
ration, the one to wage a vigorous attack, the other bravely 
to defend, and resolutely to oppose it 

The position of the American army was in the rear of an in- 
trenchment formed of earth, and which extended in a straight 
line from the river to a considerable distance in the swamp. 
In front was a deep ditch, which had been formerly used as a 
mill-race. The Mississippi had receded and left this dry next 
the river, though in many places the \fater still remained. 
Along the line, and at unequal distances, to the centre of 
General Carroll's command, were guns mounted, of different 
caliber, from six to thirty-two pounders. Near the river, and 
in advance of the intrsnchment, was erected a redoubt, with 
embrasures, commanding the road along the levee, and calcu- 
lated to rake the ditch in front. 

We have heretofore stated, that General Morgan was order- 
ed, on the 24th of December, to cross to the west bank of the 
Mississippi. From an apprehension entertained that an at- 
tempt might be made through Barrataria, and the city reached 
from the right bank of the river, the General had extended 
his defense there likewise : in fact, unacquainted with the en- 
emy's views — not knowing the number of their troops, nor 
but that they might have sufficient strength to wage an attack 
in various directions, and anxiously solicitous to be prepared 
at all points, he had carefully divided out his forces, that he 
might guard and be able to protect, in whatever direction an 
assault should be waged. His greatest fears, and hence his 



DEFENSE OF NEW-ORLEANS. 



12J/ 



strongest defense, next the one occiii)ied by himself, was' on 
the Chef Menteur road, where Governor Claiborne, at the 
head of the Louisiana militia, w^as posted. The position on 
the right was formed on the same plan with the line on the 
left — lower down than the one on the left, and extending to 
the swamp at right angles to the river. Here General Morgan 
commanded. 

To be prepared against every possible contingency that 
might arise, Jackson had established another line of defense, 
about two miles in the rear of the one at present occupied, 
which was intended as a rallying point if he should be driven 
from his first position. With the aid of his cavalry, to give 
a momentary check to the advance of the enemy, he expected 
to be enabled, with inconsiderable injury, to reach it; where 
he would again have advantages on his side, be in a situation 
to dispute a further passage to the city, and arrest their pro- 
gress. To inspirit his own soldiers, and to exhibit to the en- 
emy as great a show as possible of strength and intended 
resistance, his unarmed troops, which constituted no inconsid- 
erable number, were here stationed. All intercourse between 
the lines, except by confidential officers, was prohibited, and 
every precaution and vigilance employed not only to keep this 
want of preparation concealed from the enemy, but even from 
being knovcn on his own lines. 

Occasional firing at a distance, which produced nothing of 
consequence, was all that marked the interim from the 1st to 
the 8th of January. 

On the 4th of this month, the long-expected reinforcement 
from Kentucky, amounting to twenty-two hundred and fifty, 
under the command of Major-general Thomas, arrived at head 
quarters ; but so ill provided with arms as to be incapable of 
rendering any considerable service. The alacrity with which 
the citizens of this state had proceeded to the frontiers, and 
aided in the north-western campaigns, added to the disasters 
which ill-timed policy or misfortune had produced, had created 
such a drain that arms were not to be procured. They had 
advanced, however, to their point of destination, with an ex- 
pectation of being supplied on their arrival. About five hun- 
dred of them had muskets ; the rest v»'ere provided with guns. 



122 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

from which little or no advantage could be expected. The 
mayor of New-Orleans, at the request of General Jackson, had 
already .examined and drawn from the city every weapon that 
could be found ; while the arrival of the Louisiana militia, in 
an equally unprepared situation, rendered it impossible for the 
evil to be effectually remedied. A boat laden with arms was 
somewhere on the river, intended for the use and defense of 
the lower country; but where it was, or when it might arrive, 
rested alone on hope and conjecture. Expresses had been 
dispatched up the river, for three hundred miles, to seek and 
hasten it on; still there were no tidings of an approach. That 
so many brave men, at a moment of such anxious peril, should 
be compelled to stand with folded arms, unable, from their sit- 
uation, to render the least possible service to their country, 
was an event greatly to be deplored, and did not fail to excite 
the feelings and sensibility of the commanding General. His 
mind active, and prepared for any thing but despondency, 
sought relief in vain ; there was none. No alternative was 
presented but to place them at his intrenchment in the rear, 
conceal their actual condition, and, by the show they might 
make, add to his appearance and numbers, without at all in- 
creasing his strength. 

Information was now received that jMajor-general Lambert 
had joined the British commander-in-chief with a considerable 
reinforcement. It had been heretofore announced in the Ame- 
rican camp that additional forces were expected, and something 
decisive might be looked for as soon as they should artive. 
This circumstance, in connexion w^ith others no less favoring 
the idea, had led to the conclusion that a few days more would, 
in all probability, bring on the struggle which would decide 
the fate of the city. It was more than ever necessary to keep 
concealed the situation of his army ; and, above all, to pre- 
serve as secret as possible its unarmed condition. To restrict 
all communication even with his own lines, was now, as dan- 
ger increased, rendered more important. None were permitted 
to leave the line, and none from without to pass into his camp, 
but such as were to be implicitly confided in. The line of 
sentinels was strengthened in front, that none might pass to 
the enemy, should desertion be attempted : yet, notwithstand- 



DEFENSE OF NEW-ORLEANS. 123 

ing his caution and care, his plans and situation were disclosed. 
On the night of the 6th of January, a soldier from the line, by 
some means, succeeded in eluding the vigilance of our senti- 
nels. Early next morning his departure was discovered; it 
was at once correctly conjectured he had gone over to the ene- 
my, and would, no doubt, aftbrd them all the information in 
his power to communicate. This opinion, as subsequent cir- 
cumstances disclosed, was well founded ; and dearly did he 
atone his crime. He unfolded to the British the situation of 
the American line, the late reinforcements we had received, 
and the unarmed condition of many of the troops; and point- 
ing to the centre of General Carroll's division, as a place occu- 
pied by militia alone, he recommended it as the point where 
an attack might be most safely and prudently made. 

Other intelligence received, was confirmatory of the belief of 
an impending attack. From some prisoners, taken on the lake, 
it was ascertained the enemy were busily engaged in deepen- 
ing Villery's canal, with a view of passing their boats and 
ordnance to the Mississippi. During the 7th, a constant bus- 
tle was perceived in the British camp. Along the borders of 
the canal, their soldiers were continually in motion, marching 
and maneuvering, for no other purpose than to conceal those 
who were busily engaged at work in the rear. To ascertain 
the cause of this uncommon stir, and learn their designs, as 
far as was practicable. Commodore Patterson had proceeded 
down the river, on the opposite side, and having gained a fa- 
vorable position in front of their encampment, discovered them 
to be actually engaged in deepening the passage to the river. 
It was no difficult matter to divine their purpose. No other 
conjecture could be entertained, than that an assault was in- 
tended to be made on the line of defense commanded by Gen- 
eral Morgan ; which, if gained, would expose our troops on 
the left bank to the fire of the redoubt erected on the right ; 
and in this way compel them to an abandonment of their po- 
sition. To counteract this scheme was important : and meas- 
ures were immediately taken to prevent the execution of a 
plan, which, if successful, would be attended with incalcula-' 
ble dangers. An increased strength was given to this line. 
The second regiment of Louisiana militia, and four hundred 



124 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

Kentucky troops, were directed to be crossed over, to reinforce 
and protect it. Owing to some delay and difficulty in arming 
them, the latter amounting, instead of four hundred, to but one 
hundred and eighty, did not arrive until the morning of the 
8th. A little before day they were despatched to aid an ad- 
vanced party, who, under the command of Major Arnaut, had 
been sent to watch the movements of the enemy, and oppose 
their landing. The hopes indulged from their opposition were 
not realized; and the enemy, unmolested, reached the shore. 

Morgan's position, besides being strengthened by several 
brass twelves, was defended by a strong battery, mounting 
twenty-four pounders, directed by Commodore Patterson, which 
afforded additional strength and security. The line itself was 
not strong ; yet, if properly maintained by the troops selected 
to defend it, was believed fully adequate to the purpose of 
successful resistance. Late at night Patterson ascertained that 
the enemy had succeeded in passing their boats through the 
canal, and immediately communicated his information to the 
General. The Commodore had already formed the idea of 
dropping the Louisiana schooner down, to attack and sink 
ihern. This thought, though well conceived, was abandoned, 
from the danger involved, and from an apprehension lest the 
batteries erected on the river, with which she would come in 
collision, might, by the aid of hot shot, succeed in blowing 
her up. It was preferred patiently to await their arrival, be- 
lieving it would be practicable, with the bravery of more than 
fifteen hundred men, and the slender advantages possessed 
from their line of defense, to maintain their position, and re- 
pel the assailants. 

On the left bank, where the general in person commanded, 
every thing was in readiness to meet the assault when it should 
be made. The redoubt on the levee was defended by a com- 
pany of the seventh regiment, under the command of Lieu- 
tenant Ross. The regular troops occupied that part of the 
intrenchment next the river. General Carroll's division was 
in the centre, supported by the Kentucky troops, under Gen- 
eral John Adair ; while the extreme left, extending for a con- 
siderable distance into the swamp, was protected by the 
brijrade of General Coffee. How soon the attack should be 



DEFENSE OF NEW-ORLEANS. 125 

waged was uncertain ; at what moment rested with the enemy 
— with us, to be in readiness for resistance. There were 
many circumstances, however, favoring the belief that the 
hour of contest was not far distant, and indeed fast aj^proach- 
ing ; the bustle of to-day, — the efforts to carry their boats 
into the river, — the fascines and scaling-ladders that were 
preparing — were circumstances pointing to attack, and indi- 
cating the hour to be near at hand. General Jackson, unmoved 
by appearances, anxiously desired a contest, which he believed 
would give a triumph to his arms, and terminate the hardships 
of his suffering soldiers. Unremitting in exertion, and con- 
stantly vigilant, his precaution kept pace with the zeal and 
preparation of the enemy. He seldom slept : he was always 
at his post, performing the duties of both general and soldier. 
His sentinels were doubled, and extended as far as possible 
in the direction of the British camp ; while a considerable 
portion of the troops were constantly at the line, with arms 
in their hands, ready to act when the first alarm should be 
given. 

For eight days had the tvro armies lain upon the same field, 
and in view of each other, without any thing decisive being 
on either side efiected. Twice since their landing had the 
British columns essayed to effect by storm the execution of 
their plans, and twice had failed — been compelled to relin- 
quish the attempt, and retire from the contest. It was not to 
be expected that things could long remain in this dubious 
state. Soldiers, the pride of England, — the boasted conquer- 
ors of Europe, were there; distinguished generals their lead- 
ers, who earnestly desired to announce to their country and 
the world their signal achievements. The high expectations 
which had been indulged of the success of this expedition 
were to be realized at every peril, or disgrace would follow 
the failure. 

The 8th of January at length arrived. The day dawned ; 
and the signals intended to produce concert in the enemy's 
movements were descried. On the left, near the swamp, a 
skyrocket was perceived rising in the air; and presently an- 
other ascended from the right, next the river. They were in- 
tended to announce that all was prepared and ready, to pro- 



126 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

ceed and cany by storm a defense which had twice foiled 
their utmost etlbrts. Instantly the charge was made, and with 
such rapidity, that our soldiers at the outposts with difficulty 
fled in. 

The British batteries, which had been demolished on the 1st 
of the month, had been re-established during the preceding 
night, and heavy pieces of cannon mounted, to aid in their in- 
tended operations. These now opened, and showers of bombs 
and balls were poured upon our line ; while the air was light- 
ed with their congreve rockets. The two divisions, command- 
ed by Sir Edward Packenham in person, and supported by Gen- 
erals Keane and Gibbs, pressed forward ; the right against the 
centre of General Carroll's command, the left against our re- 
doubt on the levee. A thick fog that obscured the morning 
enabled them to approach within a short distance of our in- 
trenchment before they were discovered. They were now 
perceived advancing with firm, quick, and steady pace, in col- 
umn, with a front of sixty or seventy deep. Our troops, who 
had for some time been in readiness, and waiting their appear- 
ance, gave three cheers, and instantly the whole line was 
lighted with the blaze of their fire. A burst of artiller)' and 
small arms, pouring with destructive aim upon them, mowed 
down their front, and arrested their advance. In our musket- 
ry there was not a moment's intermission : as one party dis- 
charged their pieces, another succeeded ; alternately loading 
and appearing, no pause could be perceived — it was one con- 
tinued volley. The columns already perceived their danger- 
ous and exposed situation. Battery No. 7, on the left, was 
ably served by Lieutenant Spotts, and galled them with an in- 
cessant and destructive fire. Batteries No. 6 and 8 were no 
less actively employed, and no less successful in felling them, 
to the ground. Notwithstanding the severity of our fire, 
which fe\T troops could for a moment have withstood, some 
of those brare men pressed on, and succeeded in gaining the 
ditch in front of our works, where they remained during the 
action, and were afterward made prisoners. The horror be- 
fore them vras too great to be withstood : and already were 
the British troops seen wavering in their determination, and 
rtceding from the conflict. At this moment, Sir Edward Pack- 



DEFENSE OF NEW-ORLEAKS. 127 

enham, hastening to the front, endeavored to encourage and 
inspire them with renewed zeal. His example was of short 
continuance; he soon fell mortally wounded in the arms of 
hi^id-de-camp, not far from our line. Generals Gibbs and 
Keane also fell, and were borne from the field dangerously 
wounded. At this mom&nt. General Lambert, who was ad- 
vancing at a small distance in the rear, with the reserve, met 
the columns precipitately retreating, and in great confusion. 
His efforts to stop them were unavailing, they continued re- 
treating, until they reached a ditch at the distance of four 
hundred yards, where a momentary safety being found, they 
were rallied and halted. 

The field before them, over w^hich they had advanced, was 
strewed with the dead and dying. Danger hovered still 
around ; yet urged and encouraged by their officers, who 
feared their own disgrace involved in the failure, they again 
moved to the charge. They were already near enough to de- 
ploy, and were endeavoring to do so ; but the same constant 
and unremitted resistance that caused their first retreat, con- 
tinued yet unabated. Our batteries had never ceased their 
fire ; their constant discharges of grape and canister, and the 
fatal aim of our musketry, mowed down the front of the col- 
umns as fast as they could be formed. Satisfied nothing 
could be done, and that certain destruction awaited all further 
attempts, they forsook the contest and the field in disorder, 
leaving it almost entirely covered with the dead and wounded. 
It was in vain their officers endeavored to animate them to 
further resistance, and equally vain to attempt coercion. The 
panic produced from the dreadful repulse they had experi- 
enced, the plain on which they had acted being covered wuth 
innumerable bodies of their countrymen, while wnth their most 
zealous exertions they had been unable to obtain the slightest 
advantage, were circumstances well calculated to make even 
the most submissive soldier oppose the authority that would 
have controlled him. 

The light companies of fusileers, the forty-third and ninety- 
third regiments, and one hundred men from the West India 
regiment, led on by Colonel Rennie, were ordered to proceed 
under cover of some chimneys standing in the field, until hav- 



128 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

ing cleared tliem, to oblique to the river, and advance, pro- 
tected by the levee against our redoubt on the right. This 
work having been but lately commenced, was in an unfinished 
state. It was not until the 4th that General Jackson, much 
against his own opinion, had yielded to the suggestions of 
others, and permitted its projection ; and, considering the plan 
on w^hich it had been sketched, had not yet received that 
strength necessary to its safe defense. The detachment or- 
dered against this place formed the left of General Keane's 
command. Rennie executed his orders with great bravery, 
and urging forward, arrived at the ditch. His advance was 
greatly annoyed by Commodore Patterson's battery on the 
left bank, and the cannon mounted on the redoubt; but reach- 
ing our works and passing the ditch, Rennie, sword in hand, 
leaped on the wall, and calling to his troops, bade them fol- 
low; he had scarcely spoken, when he fell by the fatal aim 
of our riflemen. Pressed by the impetuosity of the superior 
numbers who were mounting the wall and entering at the em- 
brasures, our troops had retired, to the line, in rear of the re- 
doubt. A momentary pause ensued, but only to be interrupt- 
ed with increased horrors. Captain Beal, with the city rifle- 
men, cool and self-possessed, perceiving the enemy in his 
front, opened upon them, and at every discharge brought the 
object to the ground. To advance, or maintain the point 
gained, was equally impracticable for the enemy: to retreat or 
surrender was the only alternative : for they already perceived 
the division on the right thrown into confusion, and hastily 
leaving the field. 

General Jackson, being informed of the success of the 
enemy on the right, and of their being in possession of the 
redoubt, pressed forward a reinforcement to regain it. Pre-. 
viously to its arrival, they had abandoned the attempt and 
were retiring. They were severely galled by such of our : 
guns as could be brought to bear. The levee aflbrded them 
considerable protection ; yet by Commodore Patterson's re- ■ 
doubt on the right bank, they sufTered greatly. Enfiladed by ' 
this on their advance, they had been greatly annoyed, and 
now in their retreat were no less severely assailed. Numbers 
found a grave in the ditch before our line; and of those who 



DEFENSE OF NEW-ORLEANS. 129 

-gained the redoubt, not one it is believed escaped : they were 
«hot down as fast as they entered. The route along which 
they had advanced and retired was strewed with bodies. Af- 
frighted at the carnage, they moved from the scene hastily 
and in confusion. Our batteries were still continuing the 
■slaughter, and cutting them down at every step : safety seemed 
only to be attainable when they should have retired without 
the range of our shot ; which, to troops galled as severely as 
they were, was too remote a relief. Pressed by this consid- 
eration, they fled to the ditch, whither the right division had 
retreated, and there remained until night permitted them to 
retire. 

The loss of the British in the main attack on the left bank, 
has been at different times variously stated. The killed, 
wounded, and prisoners, ascertained on the next day after the 
battle, by Colonel Hayne, the inspector-general, places it at 
twenty-six hundred. General Lambert's report to Lord Bath- 
urst, makes it but two thousand and seventy. From prisoners, 
however, and information and circumstances derived through 
other sources, it must have been even greater than is stated by 
either. Among them was the Commander-in-chief, and Major- 
general Gibbs, who died of his wounds the next day, besides 
many of their most valuable and distinguished officers ; while 
the loss of the Americans, in killed and wounded, was but 
thirteen. Our effective force at the line on the left bank, 
Avas three thousand seven hundred ; that of the enemy, at 
least nine thousand. The force landed in Louisiana has been 
Tariously reported ; the best information places it at about 
fourteen thousand. A part of this acted with Colonel Thorn- 
ton ; the climate had rendered many unfit for the duties of the 
field; while a considerable number had been killed and 
■wounded in the different contests since their arrival. Their 
strength, therefore, may be fairly estimated, on the 8th, at the 
number we have stated ; at any rate, not less. 

That this was considered an undertaking of greater magni- 
tude and hazard than they were disposed openly to admit, is 
obvious, from one circumstance. The officer who leads his 
troops on a forlorn attempt, not unfrequently places before 
them allurements stronger than either authority or duty. On 
9 



130 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

the present occasion, this resort was not omitted; and induce- 
ments were held out, than M'hich nothing more inviting could 
he offered to an infuriated soldiery. Let it he remembered of 
that gallant hut misguided general, who has heen so much 
deplored by the British nation, that to the cupidity of his 
soldiers he promised the wealth of the city, as a recompense 
for their gallantry and desperation ; while, with brutal licen- 
tiousness, they were to revel in lawless indulgence, and tri- 
umph uncontrolled over female innocence. Scenes like these, 
our nation, dishonored and insulted, had already witnessed: 
she had witnessed them at Hampton and Havre-de-Grace ; but 
it w-as reserved for her yet to learn, that an officer of the 
character and standing of Sir Edward Packenham, polished, 
generous and brave, should, to induce his soldiers to acts of 
daring valor, permit them, as a reward, to insult, injure and 
debase those whom all mankind, even savages, reverence and 
respect. The history of Europe, since civilized warfare began, 
is challenged to afford an instance of such gross depravity, 
such wanton outrage on the morals and dignity of society. 
English writers may deny the correctness of the charge: it 
certainly interests them to do so; but its authenticity is too 
well established to admit of doubt, while its criminality is 
increased, from being the act of a people who hold themselves 
up to surrounding nations as examples of every thing that is 
correct and proper. The facts and circumstances which were 
presented at the time of this transaction, left no doubt on the 
minds of our officers, but that '^ Beauty and Booty" was the 
watch-word of the day. The information Vvas obtained from 
prisoners, and confirmed by the books of two of their orderly- 
sergeants taken in battle, which contained recorded proof of 
the fact. 

The events of this day afford abundant evidence of the lib- 
erality of the American soldiers, and show a striking difference 
in the troops of the two nations. While those of one were 
allured to acts of bravery and duty by the promised pillage 
and plunder of the inhabitants, and the commission of crimes 
abhorrent in the sight of earth and heaven ; the other fought 
but for his country, and having repelled her assailants, instantly 
forgot all enmity, viewed his fallen foe as a brother, and hast- 



DEFENSE OF NEW-ORLEANS. 131 

ened to assist him, even at the hazard ^f his own life. The 
gallantry of the British soldiers, and no people could have 
displayed greater, had brought many of them even to our 
ramparts, where, shot down by our troops, they were lying 
badly wounded. When the firing had ceased, and the columns 
had retired, our troops, with generous benevolence, advanced 
over their lines to assist and bring in the wounded who lay 
under and near the walls ; when, strange to tell, the enemy 
from the ditch they occupied opened a fire upon them, and, 
though at a considerable distance, succeeded in wounding 
several. It was enough for our generous soldiers, that they 
were doing an act which the benevolence of their hearts ap- 
proved ; and with charitable perseverance they continued to 
administer to the wants of these suffering men, and to carry 
them within their lines, although in their efforts they were 
continually exposed to danger. Let the apologist for crime 
say wherefore were acts, thus unpardonable, com.mitted against 
men who were administering to the wants and relieving the 
sufferings of the dying countrymen of those who thus repaid 
the most laudable humanity Avith wanton and useless cruelty. 
A communication shortly after from Major-general Lam- 
bert, on whom, in consequence of the fall of Generals Pack- 
enham, Gibbs, and Keane, the command had devolved, acknow- 
ledges to have witnessed the kindness of our troops to his- 
wounded. He solicited of General Jackson permission to send 
an unarmed party to bury the dead lying before his lines, and 
to bring off such as were dangerously wounded. Though 
in all probability it was unknown to General Lambert what 
had been the conduct of his troops on this occasion, and un- 
questionably not authorized by him, yet Jackson, in answer 
to his despatch, did not omit to bring it to his view, and to 
express his utter abhorrence of the act. The request to bury 
the dead was granted. General Jackson, however, refused to 
permit a near approach to his line, but consented that the 
wounded who were at a greater distance than three hundred 
yards from the intrenchment should be relieved, and the dead 
buried : those nearer, were by his own men to be delivered 
over, to be interred by their countrymen. This precaution 



132 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

was taken, that the enemy might not have an opportunity to 
inspect, or know any thing of his situation. 

General Lambert, desirous of admini.stering to the relief of 
the wounded, and that he might be relieved from his appre- 
Jiensions of attack, proposed, about noon, that hostilities 
should cease until the same hour the next day. General Jack- 
. son, cherishing the hope of being able to secure an important ad- 
vantage by apparent willingness to accede to the proposal, 
drew up an armistice and forwarded it to General Lambert, 
with directions for it to be immediately returned, if approved. 
It contained a stipulation to this effect : that hostilities on the 
left bank of the river should be discontinued from its ratifica- 
tion, but on the right bank they should not cease; and, in the 
interim, that under no circumstances were reinforcements to 
be sent across by either party. This was a bold stroke at 
stratagem; and although it succededeven to the extent desired, 
was yet attended with considerable hazard. Reinforcements 
had been ordered over to retake the position lost by Morgan 
in the morning, and the General presumed they had arrived at 
their point of destination; but at this time they had not passed 
the river, nor could it be expected to be retaken with the same 
troops v/ho had yielded it the day before, when possessed of 
advantages which gave them a decided superiority; this the 
commanding General well knew ; yet, to spare the sacrifice of 
liis men, which, in regaining, it he foresaw must be conside- 
rable, he was disposed to venture upon a course which, he 
felt assured, could not fail to succeed. It was impossible his 
object could be discovered : while he confidently believed the 
British commander would infer, from the prompt and ready 
manner in which his proposal had been met, that such addi- 
tional troops were already thrown over as would be fully ade- 
quate to the purposes of attack, and greatly to endanger, if 
not wholly to cut off, Colonel Thornton's retreat. General 
Lambert's construction was such as had been anticipated. 
Although the armistice contained a request that it should be 
immediately signed and returned, it was neglected to be acted 
upon until the next day ; and Thornton and his command 
were, in the interim, under cover of the night, recrossed, and 



DEFENSE OF NE^V-ORLEANS 133 

the ground the}^ occupied left to be peaceably possessed by 
the original holders. The opportunity thus afforded of regain- 
ing a position on which, in a great degree, depended the safe- 
ty of those on the opposite shore, was accepted with an avid- 
ity its importance merited, and immediate measures taken to 
increase its strength, and prepare it against any future attack 
that might be made. This delay of the British commander 
was evidently designed, that, pending the negotiation, and be- 
fore it was concluded, an opportunity might be had either of 
throwing over reinforcements, or removing Colonel Thornton 
and his troops from a situation so extremely perilous. Early 
next morning, General Lambert returned his acceptance of 
what had been proposed, with an apology for having failed to 
reply sooner : he excused the ommission by pleading a press 
of business, which had occasioned the communication to be 
overlooked and neglected. Jackson was at no loss to attrib- 
ute the delay to the correct motive ; the apology, however, was 
as perfectly satisfactory to him as any thing that could have 
been offered ; beyond the object intended to be effected he felt 
•unconcerned, and having secured this, he rested perfectly sat- 
isfied. It cannot, hovrever, appear otherwise than extraordi- 
nary, that this neglect should have been ascribed by the Brit- 
ish general to accident, or a press of business, when it must 
have been, no doubt, of greater importance at that moment 
than any thing which he could possibly have had before him. 

The armistice was this morning (9th of January) conclu- 
ded, and agreed to continue until two o'clock in the evenings. 
The dead and wounded were now removed from the field, 
which for three hundred yards in front of our line of defense, 
they almost literally covered. For the reason already suggest- 
ed, our soldiers, within the line of demarcation between the 
two cainps, delivered over to the British, who were not permit- 
ted to cross it, the dead for burial, and the wounded on parole, 
for which it was stipulated an equal number of American 
prisoners should be restored. 

It has seldom happened that officers were more deceived in 
their expectations, than they were in the result of this battle,, 
or atoned more severely for their error: their reasoning had 
never led them to conclude that militia would maintain their 



134 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

ground when warmly assailed ; no other belief was entertain- 
ed than, alarmed at the appearance and orderly firm approach 
of veteran troops, they would at once forsake the contest, and 
seek safety in flight. At what part of our line they were sta- 
tioned, was ascertained by information derived through a de- 
serter on the 6th ; and, influenced by a belief of their want of 
nerve and deficiency in bravery, at this point the main assault 
was urged. They were indeed militia ; but the enemy could 
have assailed no part of our intrenchment where they would 
have met a warmer reception, or where they would have found 
greater strength; it was, indeed, the best defended part of the 
line. The Kentucky and Tennessee troops, under Generals 
Carroll, Thomas, and Adair, were here, who had already, on 
former occasions, won a reputation that was too dear to be sa- 
crificed. These divisions, alternately charging their pieces 
and mounting the platform, poured forth a constant fire, that 
was impossible to be withstood, repelled the advancing col- 
umns, and drove them from the field with prodigious slaughter. 
There is one fact told, to which general credit seems to be 
attached, and which clearly shows the opinion had by the 
British of our militia, and the little fear which was entertain- 
ed of any determxined opposition from them. When repulsed 
from our line, the British officers were fully persuaded, that 
the information given them by the deserter on the night of the 
6th was false, and that instead of "pointing out the ground 
defended by the militia, he had referred them to the place oc- 
cupied by our best troops. Enraged at what they believed an 
intentional deception, they called their informant before them 
to account for the mischief he had done. It was in vain he 
urged his innocence, and, with the most selemn protestations, 
declared he had stated the fact truly as it was. They could 
not be convinced — it was impossible that they had contended 
against any but the best disciplined troops; and without further 
ceremony, the poor fellow, suspended in view of the camp, 
expiated on a tree, not his crime, for what he had stated was 
true, but their error in underrating an enemy, who had already 
afforded abundant evidences of valor. In all their future 
trials with our countrymen, may they be no less deceived, 
and discover in our yeomanry a determination to sustain 



FAREWELL ADDRESS TO HIS TROOPS. 135 

with firmness a government which knows nothing of oppres- 
sion ; but which, on an enlarged and Hberal scale, aims to se- 
cure the independence and happiness of man. If the people 
of the United' States — free almost as the air they breathe — • 
shall at any time omit to maintain their privileges and their 
government, then, indeed, will it be idle longer to speak of the 
rights of men, or of their capacity to gov^ern themselves: the 
dream of liberty must fade away and perish for ever, no more 
to be remembered. 

After the battle of the 8th of January, Jackson could have 
captured every man of tlie British force that was upon the land, 
if he had been supplied with arms, according to his own re- 
peated, urgent requests, and agreeably to the promises that 
were made him. Not having arms, he was compelled to let 
the remainder of the " heroes of the Peninsula" escape. They 
got to the other side of the river, and there they embarked, 
leaving behind them the contempt of the faithful Americans, 
and the sympathetic sorrows of the traitors. Now, however, 
these traitors sang his praises in lofty strains ; put up thanks- 
giving in their churches, called him " an instrument in the 
hands of God;" though a few days before they would have 
gold him and his army, flesh and blood. He submitted to the 
mummery of being fined for having imprisoned the judge, 
which he did in order to give an example of submission to the 
laws. He found it necessary to remain at New-Orleans till 
March, when he dismissed his troops in the following ad- 
dress, which should be read, preserved, and cherished in all 
countries: 

ADDRESS TO THE TROOPS OF NEW-ORLEANS AFTER THE ANNUN- 
CIATION OF PEACE. 

The Major-general is at length enabled to perform the pleas- 
ing task of restoring to Tennessee, Kentucky, Louisiana, and 
the territory of the Mississippi, the brave troops who have 
acted such a distinguished part in the war which has just ter- 
minated. In restoring these brave men to their homes, much 
exertion is expected of, and great responsibility imposed on, 
the commanding officers of the different corps. It is required 



136 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

of Major-generals Carroll and Thomas, and Brigadier-general 
Coffee, to march their commands, without unnecessary delay., 
to their respective states. The troops from the Mississippi 
territory and state of Louisiana, hoth militia and volunteers,, 
will be immediately mustered out of service, paid, and dis- 
charged. 

The Major-general has the satisfaction of announcing the 
approbation of the President of the United States to the con- 
duct of the troops under his command, expressed in flattering 
terms, through the honorable the Secretary of War. 

In parting with those brave men, whose destinies have been, 
so long united with his own, and in whose labors and glories 
it is his happiness and his boast to have participated, the com- 
manding general can neither suppress his feelings, nor give 
utterance to them as he ought. In what terms can he bestow 
suitable praise on merit so extraordinary, so unparalleled ? 
Let him, in one burst of joy, gratitude, and exultation, ex- 
claim — " These are the saviors of their country — these the 
patriot soldiers, who triumphed over the invincibles of Wel- 
lington, and conquered the conquerors of Europe !" With, 
what patience did you submit to privations — with what for- 
titude did you endure fatigue — what valor did you display in. 
the day of battle ! You have secured to America a proud 
name among the nations of the earth — a glory which will 
never perish. 

Possessing those dispositions which equally adorn the citi- 
zen and the soldier, the expectations of your country will be 
met in peace, as her wishes have been gratified in war. Go, 
then, my brave companions, to your homes ; to those tender 
connexions, and blissful scenes, which render life so dear — 
full of honor, and crowned with laurels which will never fade. 
When participating in the bosoms of your families the enjoy- 
ment of peaceful life, with what happiness will you not look 
back to the toils you have borne — to the dangers you have en- 
countered ? How will all your past exposures be converted 
into sources of inexpressible delight ! Who, that never ex- 
perienced your sufferings, will be able to appreciate your joys ? 
The man who slumbered ingloriously at home, during your 
painful marches, your nights of watchfulness, and your days 



FAREWELL ADDRESS TO HIS TROOPS. 137 

of toil, will envy you the happiness which these recollections 
will afford — still more will he envy the gratitude of that coun- 
try, which you have so eminently contributed to save. 

Continue, fellow-soldiers, on your passage to your several 
destinations, to preserve that subordination, that dignified and 
manly deportment, which have so ennobled your character. 

While the commanding general is thus giving indulgence to 
his feelings towards those brave companions who accompanied 
him through difficulties and danger, he cannot permit the names 
of Blount, and Shelby, and Holmes, to pass unnoticed. With 
what generous ardor and patriotism have these distinguished 
governors contributed all their exertions to provide the means 
of victory ! The recollection of their exertions, and of the 
success which has resulted, will be to them a reward more 
grateful than any which the pomp of title or the splendor of 
wealth can bestow. 

What happiness it is to the commanding general, that, while 
danger was before him, he was, on no occasion, compelled to 
use towards his companions in arms either severity or rebuke ! 
If, after the enemy had retired, improper passions began their 
empire in a few unworthy bosoms, and rendered a resort to 
energetic m.easures necessary for their suppression, he has not 
confounded the innocent with the guilty — the seduced with 
the seducers. Towards you, fellow-soldiers, the most cheer- 
ing recollections exist ; blended, alas ! with regret, that disease 
and war should have ravished from us so many worthy com- 
panions. But the memory of the cause in which they perished, 
and of the virtues which animated them v\^hile living, must oc- 
cupy the place where sorrow would claim to dwell. 

Farewell, fellow-soldiers. The expression of your general's 
thanks is feeble, but the gratitude of a country of freemen is 
yours — yours the applause of an admiring world. 
ANDREW JACKSON, 

Major- General commanding. 

The following bulletin published in the London Gazette, of 
the 8th March, 1815, may not be uninteresting; showing, as- 
t does, the way in w^hich the Government of England, glossed 
over their loss and disgrace at New-Orleans : 



138 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

BULLETIN. 

"War Departement, March 8, 1815. 

" Captain Wylly arrived this morning with despatches from 
Major-general Lambert, detailing the operations against the 
enemy in the neighborhood of New-Orleans. It appears that 
the army, under the command of Major-general Keane, was 
landed at the head of the Bayonne, in the vicinity of New- 
Orleans, on the morning of the 23d December, without oppo- 
sition ; it was, however, attacked by the enemy in the course 
of the night succeeding the landing, when, after an obstinate 
contest, the enemy were repulsed at all points with considera- 
ble loss. On the morning of the 25th, Sir E. Packenham ar- 
rived, and assumed the command of the army. On the 27th, 
at daylight, the troops moved forward, driving the enemy's 
pickets to within six miles of the town, when the main body 
of the enemy was discovered, posted behind a breastwork, ex- 
tending about one thousand yards, with the right resting on 
the Mississippi, and the left on a thick wood. The interval 
between the 27th December and the 8th January was em- 
ployed in preparations for an attack upon the enemy's posi- 
tion. The attack which was intended to have been made on 
the night of the 7th, did not, owing to the difficulties experi- 
enced in the passage of the Mississippi, by a corps under 
Lieutenant-colonel Thornton, which was destined to act on 
the right bank of the river, take place till early on the morn- 
ing of the 8th. The division to whom the storming of the 
enemy's work was intrusted, moved to the attack at that time, 
but being too soon discovered by the enemy, were received 
with a galling and severe fire from all parts of their line. Ma- 
jor-general Sir Edward Packenham, who had placed himself 
at the head of the troops, was unfortunately killed at the head 
of the glacis, and Major-generals Gibbs and Keane were nearly 
at the same moment wounded. The effect of this upon the 
troops caused a hesitation in their advance, and though order 
was restored by the advance of the reserve under Major-gen- 
eral Lambert, to whom the command of the army had devolved, 
and Colonel Thornton had succeeded in the operation assigned 



BRITISH ACCOUNT OF THE BATTLE. 139 

to him on the right bank of the river; yet the Major-general, 
upon the consideration of the difficulties which yet remained 
to be surmounted, did not think himself justified in ordering 
a renewal of the attack. The troops, therefore, retired to the 
position which they had occupied previous to the attack. In 
that position they remained until the evening of the 18th, 
when, the whole of the w^ounded, with the exception of 
eighty (whom it was considered dangerous to remove,) the 
field artillery, and all the stores of every description, having 
been embarked, the army retired to the head of the Bayonne, 
where the landing had been originally effected, and re-emarked 
■without molestation." 

[Such was the official announcement of this important battle. 
Buonaparte soon after returned from Elba; the battle of Water- 
loo followed, and New-Orleans was in a measure forgotten by 
the British People — but not by the Government.] 

After this battle, the command being committed to General 
Gaines, Jackson returned to his farm, where he remained un- 
til the end of 1817, when he was directed to proceed against 
the Seminole Indians, who, emerging from the Spanish terri- 
tovy^ had committed repeated massacres of the Americans on 
the frontiers. At the head of the Tennessee volunteers, w^ho 
w'ere afterward joined by the Georgia militia, he penetrated 
into Florida, destroyed the retreats of the skulking savages 
and fugitive slaves who had banded with them, and burned 
their villages. Two Englishmen, Arbuthnot and Ambrister, 
w^ere arrested by his order, charged with exciting and leading 
on the insurgents. They were tried by a court of thirteen 
officers, found guilty, and in pursuance of their sentence, the 
former was hung and the other shot. After placing a garrison 
in St. Marks, the General was about returning to Tennessee, 
when he learned that the dispersed bands were combining 
west of the Appalachicola, under the countenance and protec- 
tion of the governor of Pensacola. During the month of 
May, he, with a force of tv/elve hundred, ranged the suspect- 
ed district, and marched into Pensacola, of which he took 
possession ; the governor flying to fort Barrancas, which was 
also yielded on the 28th. Two detachments were then sent to 
clear the country of the fugitives, which being accomplished, 



140 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

Jackson returned home in June, 1818. The House of Repre- 
sentatives, in the next session of Congress, justified his course 
in taking temporary possession of the Spanish fortresses, and 
in executing the two British ringleaders. Soon after these 
events he visited the northern cities, where he was enthusias- 
tically received with public and private honors. 

When the Floridas were ceded by Spain to the United States, 
the President appointed General Jackson a commissioner to 
receive the cession, and act as Governor of the territory. This 
important annexation was officially announced by him at Pen- 
sacola in July, 1821, when he commenced his administration. 
Having organized his new government, he resigned his office, 
and returned to his farm in Tennessee. 

In the month of August, 1822, the legislature of Tennes- 
see nominated General Jackson as the successor of Mr. Mon- 
roe in the presidency of the United States ; the proposition 
was favorably received in many parts of the Union. He de- 
clined an appointment as Minister to Mexico, and in 1823 was 
elected to the Senate of the United ^tates ; but having now 
become a prominent candidate for the Chief Magistracy, he 
resigned his seat in the second session. The result of the 
popular elections of 1824, for President, gave General Jack- 
son a plurality, but not a majority of votes : Jackson had 
ninety-nine, Adams eighty-four, Crawford forty-one, and 
Clay thirty-seven. The House of Representatives was re- 
quired, by the constitutional provision, to make a selection 
from the three w^ho received the greatest number of votes, and 
the suffrages of the States gave the majority to Mr. Adams. 
General Jackson was at once nominated to succeed Mr. Adams 
at the close of his term; and the elections of the colleges 
were reported to Congress on February 11, 1829, as giving to- 
General Jackson, one hundred and seventy-eight votes, and to 
Mr. Adams, his only competitor, eighty-three. At the end of 
his first term of office, he was re-elected to a second, by an 
increased majority of the electoral votes: there being four 
candidates in the field, Jackson received two hundred and 
nineteen votes. Clay forty-nine, Floyd eleven, Wirt seven. 

On the expiration of his second term, General Jackson 
letired to his farm, near Nashville, and there resided till his 



HIS DECEASE. 141 

death, which occurred at 6 o'clock in the evening of Sunday, 
June 8, 1845, in the 78th year of his age. Much of the time 
during his retirement he suffered greatly from a disease in the 
left lobe of his lungs, which he bore with characteristic firm- 
ness and resignation. The public had been led to expect his 
death for many weeks ; the venerable patriot himself, in the 
last letter he ever wrote, had said — " I am dying daily. I feel 
that I can no longer be of service to my country, to my friends, 
€r myself ; and I am ready and willing to appear in the pres- 
ence of my INIaker." On the morning of Sunday the 8th, the 
General had swooned, and for a time was supposed to be dead ; 
but he soon after revived, and lived till evening. A short 
time before his death, he took an affectionate leave of his 
friends and domestics, retaining to the last his senses and in- 
tellect unclouded. He expired with the utmost calmness, 
expressing the highest confidence in a happy immortality, 
through the Redeemer. The simple announcement of this 
melancholy, though long expected event, excited the deepest 
emotions in the hearts of the American people. 

The memory of Jackson belongs to his country. His name 
will go down to posterity as the Hero of New-Orleans, 
whose military ability covered with glory our citizen soldiers ; 
and his Presidential career will afford to the future historian 
and the political economist, many important incidents and les- 
sons of wisdom. 

Weep, Columbia, weep ! 
Breathe once again the note 
Of sorrow, stern and deep, 
Wide o'er the land to float, — 
He rests — the Hero-Sage 
His earthly toils are o'er. 
And History's golden page 
Shall wait for him no more. 

' Tis closed — his book of life 
Is full — his race is run ; 
With fame and honor rife — 
His work forever done. 



142 HIS DECEASE. 

But while in sadness here, 
We heave an earth-born sigh — 
He lives, where not a tear 
Shall flow — no more to die. 

He lives mid spirits free. 
Who toil'd wdth him in life — 
That God and Liberty 
Crowned in that holy strife, — 
For them a nation wept 
At Freedom's sacred shrine ; 
In glory they too slept. 
Where he, with them, will shine. 

Yet shall the Patriot's name 
Be cherished by the free — 
In every soil his fame 
Shall dwell with Liberty ; 
But vainly o'er his grave 
A sorrowing nation weeps, 
Her banners drooping wave — 
For aye, the Hero sleeps. 

Her booming guns may roar, 
The clang of armor come. 
Her eagle proudly soar 
Up toward his spirit-home, — 
His country long may weep 
His glorious setting sun. 
It will not break his sleep — 
His deeds of might are done. 



CHAPTER VI 



ANECDOTES ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE LIFE AND CPIARACTER 
OF JACKSON. 

His youthful heroism, manifested in an attack upon the Waxhaw 
settlement during the Revolution, and when but a boy of four- 
teen years of age. 

Then, boys big enough to carry muskets incurred the dangers 
of men. Robert and Andrew Jackson had their horses and their 
guns, and, like their kindred and neighbors, were almost con- 
stantly with some armed party. Men could not, unguarded, 
sleep in their own houses without danger of surprise and mur- 
der. It was on such an occasion that Andrew Jackson gave 
the first illustration of that quickness of thought and prompti- 
tude of action which have sinced placed him among the first 
militaiy commanders. A Whig captain, named Lands, desired 
to spend a night with his family. Robert and Andrew Jack- 
son, with one of the Crawford's, and five others, constituted 
his guard. There were nine men and seven muskets. Hav- 
ing no special apprehensions of an attack, they laid down on 
their arms, and, with the exception of a British deserter, who 
was one of the party, went to sleep. Lands' house was in 
the centre of an enclosed yard, and had two doors, facing east 
and west. Before the east door stood a forked apple-tree. In 
the southwest corner of the yard were a corncrib and stable 
under one roof, ranging east and west. On the south was a 
wood, and through it passed the road by which the house was 
approached. 

A party of Tories became apprised of Lands' return, and 
determined to surprise and kill him. Approaching through 
the wood, and tying their horses behind the stable, they divi- 
ded into two parties, one advancing round the east end of the 



144 HIS PRESENCE OF MIND. 

stable towards tlie east door of the house, and the other round 
the west end towards the west door. At this moment, the 
wakeful soldier, hearing a noise in the direction of the stable, 
went out to see what was the matter, and perceived the party 
which were entering the yard at the east end of the building 
Running back in terror, he seized Andrew Jackson, who was 
nearest the door, by the hair, exclaiming, " The Tories are 
upon us." Our young hero ran out, and, putting his gun 
through the fork of the apple-tree, hailed the approaching 
band. Having repeated his hail w^ithout an answer, and per- 
ceiving the party rapidly advancing and but a few rods dis- 
tant, he fired. A volley was returned, which killed the sol- 
dier, who, having aroused the inmates of the house, had fol- 
lowed young Jackson, and was standing near him. The other 
band of Tories had now emerged from the west end of the 
stable, and mistaking the discharge of the advance party, then 
nearly on a line between them and the apple-tree, for the fire 
of a sallying party from the house, commenced a sharp fire 
upon their own friends. Thus both parties were brought to 
a stand. Young Andrew, after discharging his gun, returned 
into the house ; and, wnth two others, commenced a fire from 
the west door, wiiere both of his companions were shot down, 
one of them with a mortal wound. The Tories still kept up 
the fire on each other as well as on the house, until, startled 
by the sound of a cavalry charge in the distance, they betook 
themselves to their horses and fled. The charge w^as sounded 
by Major Isbel, of the neighborbood, who had not a man with 
him ; but hearing the firing, and knowing that Lands was 
attacked, gave the blast upon his trumpet to alarm the assail- 
ants. Jackson was then scarcely fourteen years old. 



FIRST TAKEN PRISONER — HIS TREATMENT. 

Lord Rawdon, whose headquarters were at Camden, had 
been left by Cornwallis in command of the British force in 
South Carolina. Being informed of the Waxhaw settlers' 
return, he despatched Major Coffin, with a corps of light 
dragoons, a company of regular infantry, and a band of To- 
ries, to capture or destroy them. At once the settlers resolv- 



FIRST TAKEN PRISO^'ER — HIS TREATMENT. 145 

-^ed to imbody and fight. The Waxhaw Meeting-house was 
designated as the point of rendezvous. The British Major 
received intelligence of the time and place, and determined, 
by a rapid march, to fall upon them before they could organ- 
ize. On the day appointed, about forty, including Robert and 
Andrew Jackson, had collected, and Avere waiting for a friend- 
ly company, under Captain Nesbit. They saw, as they thought, 
the expected reinforcement approaching, and were not unde- 
ceived until a party of British dragoons rushed in among 
them. Putting his tories in front, whose dress was that of 
the country, the British officer kept his dragoons out of sight 
until so near as to leave no time for the militia to recover 
from the surprise which their appearance produced. Eleven 
of the little band were taken, and the rest, mounting their 
horses, dispersed and fled. Andrew Jackson was accompa- 
nied in his flight by Lieutenant Thomas Crawford, and they 
soon found themselves pursued. Crossing a wet savanna, 
the horse of Crawford mired and fell. Young Jackson reach- 
ed dry land in safety, but instantly reined up, with the view 
of aiding, if he could, his unfortunate companion. He saw 
him, under a black jack, maintaining a hopeless contest with 
his sword. Receiving a severe wound in the head, he soon 
-surrendered to a British officer, upon a promise of quarter. 
Young Jackson continued his flight, and eluded pursuit Fall- 
ing in with his brother, they remained together during the 
next night, and on the approach of morning concealed them- 
selves in a thicket on the banks of a small creek, not far 
irom the house of Lieutenant Crawford. Being within an 
enclosure where there was no path, they considered themselves 
•entirely secure. Becoming very hungry, they concluded to 
leave their horses and guns, and venture out to IMr. Crawford's 
in quest of food. Emerging carefully from the thicket, and 
seeing no signs of an enemy, they approached the house, and 
setting a boy to watch the road by w^hich only danger was 
.apprehended, they entered and made their wants known to 
-Mrs. Crawford. In the mean time, a party of dragoons and 
Tories had traced out their retreat, seized their horses and 
guns, and, guided through the enclosure by a noted Tory, 
named Johnson, presented themselves at the door before the 
10 



146 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSOxV. 

young Jacksons were aware of their approach. Resistance- 
and flight were alike hopeless, and neither was attempted. 

Mr. Crawford was wounded and a prisoner. Mrs. Craw- 
ford, with several children, one of whom w^as at the breast, 
were the inmates of the house. A scene of destruction im- 
mediately ensued. All the glass, crockery, and other furni- 
ture, were dashed in pieces. The beds were ripped open, and 
the feathers scattered to the winds. The clothing of the whole 
family, men, women, and children, was cut and torn into frag- 
ments. Even the children's clothes shared the fate of the rest. 
Mercy for the wife and little ones of a husband and father 
who was already a wounded prisoner in their hands, and 
doomed to imprisonment, if not death, touched not the hearts 
of these remorseless men, and nothing was left to the terrilied 
and wretched family but the clothes they had on and a deso- 
late habitation. No attempt w^as made by the British officer 
commanding, to arrest this destruction. While it was in pro- 
gress, he ordered Andrew Jackson to clean his muddy boots. 
The young soldier refused, claiming to be treated with the re- 
spect due to a, prisoner of war. Instead of admiring thi.s 
manly spirit in one so young, the cowardly rufhan struck at 
his head with his sword ; but, throwing up his left hand, the 
intended victim received a gash upon it, the scar of Vv'hich he 
carried to the grave. Turning to Robert Jackson, the officer 
ordered him to perform the menial task, and, receiving a like 
refusal, aimed a furious blow at his head also, and inflicted a 
wound from which he never recovered. 

After these exhibitions of ferocity, the party set Andrew 
Jackson upon a horse, and ordered him, on pain of instant 
death, to lead them to the house of a well-known Whig, by 
the name of Thompson. Apprehending that Thompson was 
at home, it occurred to his young friend that he might save 
him by a stratagem. At that time, when men were at home, 
they generally kept a look-out to avoid surprise, and had a 
horse read}* for flight. Instead of leading the party by the 
usual route, young Andrew took them through woods and 
fields, which brought them over an eminence in sight of the 
house at the distance of half a mile. Arriving at the summit, 
he beheld Thompson's horse tied to his rack, a sure sign that 



FIRST TAKEN PRISOKER — HIS TREATMENT. 14T 

his owner was at home. The British dragoons darted forward, 
and, in breathless apprehension, Andrew Jackson kept his eye 
upon Thompson's house. With inexpressible joy, he saw 
Thompson, while the dragoons were still a few hundred yards 
distant, rush out, mount his horse, dash into the creek, which, 
swollen by recent rains, ran foaming by, and in a minute as- 
cend the opposite bank. He was then out of pistol-shot, and 
the dragoons not daring to swim the rapid stream, he stopped 
long enough to shout execration and defiance, and then rode 
leisurely off. 

Andrew Jackson and his brother, with about twenty other 
prisoners, were then mounted on captured horses, and started 
for Camden, over forty miles distant. Not a mouthful of food 
or drop of drink was given them on the way. Fording 
streams deep from recent rains, when they stooped to take up 
a little water in the palms of their hands to assuage their 
burning thirst, they were ordered to desist by their brutal 
guard. 

Arrived at Camden, they were, with about two hundred and 
fifty other prisoners, confined in a redoubt surrounding the 
jail, and overlooking the country to the north. No attention 
was paid to their wounds or their wants. They had no beds, 
nor any substitute ; and their only food was a scanty supply 
of bad bread. They were robbed of a portion of their cloth- 
ing, taunted by Tories with being rebels, and assured they 
would be hanged. Andrew Jackson himself Avns stripped of 
his jacket and shoes. With a refinement of cruelty, the Jack- 
sons and their cousin, Thomas Crawford, two of them severe- 
ly wounded, were separated as soon as their relationship was 
known, and kept in perfect ignorance of each other's condi- 
tion or fate. In aggravation of their sufferings, the small-pox 
made its appearance among them. Not a step was taken to 
stay its progress or mitigate its inflictions. Without physi- 
cians or nurses, denied even the kind attentions and sympathy 
of relatives who were fellow-prisoners, their keepers left them 
to perish, not only without compassion, but with apparent 
satisfaction. The apprehensions of the sound, the sufferings 
of the sick, the groans of the dying, and the presence of the 



148 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

dead, formed a combination of horrors which imagination 
cannot exaggerate. 

One day Andrew Jack-son was sunning liimself in the en- 
trance of his prison, w^hen the officer of the guard, apparent- 
ly struck with his youthful appearance, entered into conver- 
sation with him. With characteristic energy, the fearless lad 
described to him the condition of the prisoners ; and among 
Ihe rest, tlieir sufferings from the scantiness and bad quality 
of their food. Immediately meat w^as added to their bread, 
and there was otherwise a decided improvement. The Pro- 
vost was a Tory from New-York ; and it was afterward al- 
leged that he v/ithheld the meat he had contracted to supply 
for the support of the prisoners, to feed a gang of negroes, 
which he had collected from the plantations of the Whigs, 
with intent to convert them to his own use. 



HIS PRESENCE OF MIND. 

In 1789 he first visited the infant settlements on the Cum- 
berland Eiver, including that at French Creek, near the pre- 
sent site of Nashville. Nearly all the settlers were then re- 
siding in stations, and it was several years before it was en- 
tirely safe for them to spread over the country and live in 
separate cabins. While the Shawanese from the north w^ere 
carrying on perpetual war with the settlers in Kentucky, the 
Cherokees and Chocktaws from the south were wreaking their 
vengeance on the intruders upon their hunting-grounds in Ten- 
nessee. Twenty-two times during this period of danger and 
blood did Gen. Jackson, in the performance of his public and 
private duties, cross the wilderness of two hundred miles, then 
intervening between Jonesborough and the settlements on the 
Cumberland. The hardships and perils of those journeys it is 
difficult for travelers in steamboats, railroad cars, or even sta- 
ges, duly to appreciate. In addition to his rider, with a loaded 
rifle on his shoulder, the patient horse carried upon his back 
his master's blankets, provisions, and criuipments. His food 
was the foliage of the bushes and the native grass. At a fire 
kindled from a tinder-box, or the flash of his rifle, the traveler 



HIS PrxESENCE OF MIND. 149 

roasted his bacon or -wild meat on a stick, and cut it with his 
hunter's knife, while his fingers performed the functions of 
forks. Wrapped in his blanket, with his rifle for a bed-fellow, 
and his horse standing by, he slept, with no roof to protect 
him but the boughs of the forest. Without a water-proof hat 
or India-rubber coat, he was drenched to the skin by the fall- 
ing rain. Often with a craving appetite and a delicious pheas- 
ant or plump deer before him, he dared not kill it, lest the re- 
port of his rifle should give notice of his presence to a lurking 
savage foe. 

Once, when General Jackson was traversing the wilderness 
alone, he came, after night and amid torrents of rain, to a 
creek, the voice of whose tumbling waters, already swollen to 
a flood, warned him not to enter upon its darkling ford. Dis- 
mounting from his horse, and turning his saddle bottom up- 
ward at the root of a tree, he wrapped his blanket around him, 
and with his rifle in one hand and his bridle in the other, sat 
upon it, with his horse standing before him, listening to the 
roaring stream and the pattering of raindrops upon the leaves 
of the forest, until the return of day enabled him to proceed. 

On another occasion, when, with three companions, he was 
on his way from Jonesborough to the Cumberland, arriving 
just after dark at the east side of the Emory, where it issues 
from the mountains, they discovered the fires of a large party 
of hostile Indians on the opposite bank. The moment the 
discovery was made, Andrew Jackson, as if by instinct, as- 
sumed the direction of the party. He enjoined silence and in- 
stant retreat, and having retired some distance into the moun- 
tains, directed his companions to quit the road cautiously and 
at different points, so as to leave no distinct trace behind them, 
and, reuniting, proceed up the stream, for the purpose of cross- 
ing at some ford above and eluding the Indians. Guided by 
the noise of the waters, they progressed upward among the 
mountains during the night, and, as soon as it was day, ap- 
proached the stream. They found it too much sv.'ollen to be- 
forded, and too rapid to be swam. Still apprehensive of pur- 
suit, they resumed their march, and about two o'clock in the 
afternoon reached a place where the stream, after pitching 
over a rough precipice, spread out with a lake-like surface. 



150 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

broken at a short distance below by another cataract. Here 
the party, not feeling safe until their trail was broken by the 
intervening stream, determined to attempt a passage. Binding 
logs and bushes together with hickory withes, they soon con- 
structed a small raft sufficient to convey three or four men, 
fixing two rude oars to the bows, and one as a steering-oar or 
rudder to the stern. It was cold, March weather, and very 
important to keep their clothes, blankets, and saddles, as well 
as their rifles and powder, from getting wet. To that end, it 
was concluded that Jackson and one of his companions should 
first cross with everything but the horses, and on a second 
trip swim them over alongside of the raft. Freighted accord- 
ingly, they pushed off from shore ; but in an instant an irre- 
sistible under-current seized the rude flotilla, and hurled it 
down the stream. For a few moments Jackson, who was at 
the oars, regardless of the shouts of his companions, who fol- 
lowed him downward on the bank, struggled with the flood; 
but, perceiving that farther effort could only end in destruction 
he reversed the direction of his sluggish craft, in the hope of 
reaching the shore he had left. Putting forth all his strength, 
he was unable to bring it to land ; and although within a few 
feet, the suck of the cataract had already seized it. A moment 
more, and the raft, with its passengers, would have been 
dashed in pieces, when Jackson, wrenching one of his oars 
from its fastenings, sprung to the stern, and bracing himself 
there, held it out to his companions on shore, who seized it, 
and brought them safe to land. Reproached by them for not 
heeding their first warnings, Jackson coolly replied, " A miss 
is as good as a mile : you see how near I can graze danger. 
Come on, and I will save you yet." Re-equipping themselves 
and horses, they resumed their march up the stream ; and after 
spending another night, supperless, in the woods, found a ford 
the next day, and, by a circuitous route, reached a log cabin 
on the road about forty miles in the rear of the Indian en- 
campment. 

On another occasion, he reached the rendezvous of a party 
at Bean's Station with which he was to cross the wilderness, 
the evening after they had left. Determined to overtake them, 
he employed a guide well acquainted with Indian signs and 



HIS MARRIAGE, 151 

■stratagems, and traveled all night. Just before day, they 
came to the lires where the party had encamped the first part 
of the night. Following on, they soon discovered by the 
tracks in the road that a party of Indians, about twenty-two 
in number, was in pursuit of their friends ahead. They nev- 
ertheless followed on until so near the Indians that the water 
which the weight of their tread had pressed out of the rotten 
logs was not yet dry. The guide now refused to proceed ; 
but Jackson resolved to save his friends, or, at least, hazard 
his life in the attempt. Dividing provisions, he and his guide 
proceeded in opposite directions, Jackson cautiously advancing, 
and watching the tracks of the Indians. At length he sav*- 
where they had turned off to the right, probably for the pur- 
pose of getting ahead of the party, and attacking them from 
ambush, or falling upon them in the night. With increased 
speed, he hastened forward, and overtook his friends just be- 
fore dark. Having crossed a stream which was very deep and 
partly frozen over, they had halted and kindled fires, at which 
they were drying their clothes and baggage. Warned of their 
danger, they immediately resumed their march, and continued 
it without intermission during the whole night and the next 
day. The sky was overcast with clouds, and in the evening 
it began to snow. Arriving at the log cabins of a party of 
hunters, they asked protection therein from the storm, and rest 
for the night, which, with a churhshness not usual among these 
men of the woods, was rudely refused. Not having closed 
his eyes for two nights, Jackson wrapped himself in his blank- 
ets, and laid down upon the ground, where he slept soundly, 
and in the morning found himself covered with six inches of 
snow. The party resumed their march, and reached their des- 
tination in safety; but they afterward learned that the hunters 
who had refused them the hospitality of their cabins, were 
murdered by the Indians. 



HIS MARRIAGE. 

iNIiss Rachel Donelson, the daughter of Colonel Donelson, 
of Virginia, had been celebrated for her gayety, affability and 
sweetness of disposition. Her father emigrated to Tennessee, 



152 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON, 

and, dying, left her an orphan. She formed an unhappy mat- 
rimonial connection with a morose, jealous, and dissipated 
character by the name of Roberts, who soon abandoned her. 

The difficulty was made up, and the wedded pair came to- 
gether again ; soon after which Andrew Jackson became a 
transient boarder in the same house where Roberts and his- 
wife were residing. A second rupture soon occurred, and 
Roberts left his wife and went to Kentucky. Learning that 
he intended returning and taking her there, and dreading his 
inhumanity and bad treatment, she determined to seek an asy- 
lum in Natchez, beyond his reach. Natchez was then the 
Oregon of America. In the spring of 1791, she came here 
with Colonel Starke and his family. At the earnest request 
of Colonel Starke, General Jackson piloted his family through 
the Indian country. After his return. Judge Overton commu- 
nicated to him the astounding intelligence that he was the 
unconscious cause of the last separation ; that it arose from 
Roberts' jealousy of him; and the circumstance of his accom- 
panying Colonel Starke to protect his family from the Indians, 
had been seized upon by Roberts as a ground of divorce, in a 
petition to the Virginia Legislature. 

The thought that an innocent woman was suffering so un- 
justly on his account, made General Jackson's sensitive mind 
most uneasy and unhappy. He immediately sought out Rob- 
erts and expostulated with him on the injustice and cruelty of 
his causeless suspicion; but the interview ended in mutual 
defiances. At length new^s came that the Virginia Legislature 
had actually granted the divorce in accordance with Roberts' 
petition. Forthwith Andrew Jackson hastened to Natchez, 
and offered his hand and his heart to the innocent and amiable 
woman, who had been made so unhappy by false and un- 
founded accusations. He came to Natchez, to give the world, 
the highest evidence he could give of her innocence. 

Although free to form a new connexion, Mrs. Roberts de- 
clined the proffered offer. But Andrew Jackson was not to be 
outdone. He addressed her in the language of Ruth to Naomi : 
" Entreat me not to leave thee or to return from f.oUowing^ 
after thee, for where thou goest I will go, where thou lodgest 
I will lodge, thy people shall be my people, and thy God my 



IS SET UPON BY BULLIES. 153 

God ; where thou diest I will die, and there will I be buried." 
A promise which he literally fulfilled in refusing the sarco- 
phagus of the Emperor Alexander Serverus, that he might be 
buried by her. At length, after some three months, Mrs. 
Roberts, being convinced that the chivalry which prompted 
the proposal, had become associated with genuine love, ac- 
cepted the offer, and they were married in this city or vicinity, 
and returned to Tennessee. On arriving there, finding that 
the divorce had not gone through all the forms required by 
the laws of Virginia, at the time of their marriage here, the 
ceremony was again performed there. 



IS SET UPON BY BULLIES. 

In the state of society existing in Tennessee in his younger- 
days, there was a grade of men who prided themselves on 
their courage and prowess as mere bullies, and were always 
ready, like the brute beast, to decide the question of superi- 
ority by a fight. Equals in standing who hated, but dare not 
encounter the fearless Jackson, stimulated this class of men to 
attack, in the hope of degrading, if they could not destroy 
him. The first man set upon him, with scarcely a pretence of 
provocation, w^as a flax-breaker of great strength and courage, 
whom he soon reduced to submission with his own winding- 
blades, the only weapon within his reach. His next encoun- 
ter was at a court in Sumner county, with a noted bully whom 
he did not know. While he was conversing with a gentle- 
man on business, the bully approached, and without saying a 
word, placed his heels on Jackson's feet. Pushing him off, 
Jackson seized a slab, and with a forward thrust upon the 
breast, brought him to the ground. The interference of the 
crowd put an end to the conflict; but the baffled bully, snatch- 
ing a stake from the fence, again approached with direful im- 
precations. At the earnest entreaty of Jackson, the crowd 
retired from between them. Poising his slab, he then ad- 
vanced with firm step and steady eye upon his antagonist, 
who dropped his stake at his approach, jumped the fence, and 
ran into the woods. 



154 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 



ARREST OF A CRIMINAL. 



Soon after his resignation as Senator, the Legislature of 
Tennessee conferred upon him, unsolicited, the appointment 
of Judge of the Supreme Court of Law and Equity. 

He vras then thirty years old. His first court was held at 
Jonesborough, where an incident occurred illustrative alike of 
the rudeness of the times and the firmness of the new judge. 

A man named Russell Bean was indicted for cutting off the 
ears of his infant child in a drunken frolic. He was in the 
courtyard ; but such was his strength and ferocity, that the 
sheritf, not daring to approach him, made a return to the court 
that " Russell Bean will not be taken." Judge Jackson, M'ith 
his peculiar emphasis, said that such a return w^as an absurdi- 
ty, and could not be received. "He must be taken," said the 
Judge, " and, if necessary, you must summon the posse com- 
mitatus." The mortified sheriff retired, and waiting until the 
court adjourned for dinner, summoned the judges themselves, 
as part of the j^osse. Conceiving that the object of the sheriff 
was to avoid a dangerous service under cover of the judges' 
refusal to obey the summons, Judge Jackson instantly replied, 
"Yes, sir, I will attend you, and see that you do your duty." 
Learning that Bean was armed, he requested a loaded pistol, 
which w^as put into his hand. He then said to the sheriff, 
"Advance and arrest him; I Mall protect you from harm." 
Bean, armed w^ith a dirk and brace of pistols, assumed an at- 
titude of defiance and desperation. But when the judge drew 
near, he began to retreat. " Stop and submit to the law," 
cried the judge. The culprit stopped, threw down his pistols, 
and replied, " I will surrender to you, sir, but to no one else." 

DIFFICULTY WITH GOVERNOR SEVIER. 

Fidelity to his friends has been, at ever}- period of General 
Jackson's life, one of his most striking characteristics. A 
misunderstanding arose between Jackson and his friend Judge 
M'Nairy, growing out of the agency of the latter in causing 
the Removal of General Robertson, who had been the father 
of tlie State of Tennessee, from the office of agent for the 



DIFFICULTY WITH GOVERNOR SEVIER. 155 

Chickasaw Indians. One of the consequences of that remo- 
val was, that a Mr. Searcy, who had emigrated to the country 
with them, and continued their steadfast friend, lost his office 
as clerk to the agency, on which he depended for support. 
Not perceiving any public reasons requiring this removal, he 
remonstrated with M'Nairy on the course he had pursued. 
An altercation ensued, which produced an alienation never 
entirely obliterated. This incident, added the weight of a re- 
spectable and powerful family to the hostile interests already 
arrayed against him. 

Among his enemies was John Sevier, the Governor of the 
State. Sevier was very popular, and being a candidate for 
re-election in 1803, his exasperation against General Jackson 
was, in the course of the canvass, imbibed by the powerful 
party which supported him. In East Tennessee it had arisen 
to a high pitch ; and while on his way to Jonesborough to 
hold his court in the fall of 1803, he was informed that a com- 
bination had been organized to mob him on his arrival. It 
had no efTect but to increase his anxiety to reach his destina- 
tion. Having been sick on the road, he pushed forward while 
scarcely able to sit on his horse, and on his arrival at Jones- 
borough could not dism^ount without assistance. Having a 
high fever upon him, he retired immediately to his room, and 
laid down upon the bed. In a short time a friend called, and 
informed him that a regiment of men, headed by Colonel Har- 
rison, had assembled to tar and feather him, and begged him 
to lock his door. He immediately rose, threw the door wide 
open, and said to his friend, " Give my compliments to Colo- 
nel Harrison, and tell him my door is open to receive him and 
his regiment whenever they choose to wait upon me ; and I 
hope the Colonel's chivalry will induce him to lead his men, 
and not follow them." Upon the delivery of his message, 
the mob dispersed ; and, having apologized for the inconside- 
rate violence of his conduct, Harrison remained ever after on 
good terms with General Jackson. 

His next court was at Knoxville, where the legislature was 
then in session. They had entered into an investigation of 
the land frauds which Jackson had done so much to defeat, 
and there was some evidence tending to implicate the Governor. 



156 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

His exasperation became higher than ever. xA.s Judge Jack- 
son left the court-house on the first clay of his court, he found 
a crowd in front, in the midst of which stood Governor Sevier, 
with his sword in his hand, haranguing them in a loud voice. 
As Jackson advanced, the Governor turned upon him ; and an 
altercation ensued, in which insults were given and retorted. 
Being repeatedly defied by the Governor to meet him in single 
combat, the General sent him a challenge, which was accepted. 
But in consequence of difficulties on the part of the challen- 
ged party, as to the time and place of meeting, the General 
published him in the usual form. It was then understood, 
without any formal arrangement, that they would meet at a 
place called Southwest Point, within the Indian boundary. 
Thither the General repaired with a single friend. Having 
waited a couple of days without seeing or hearing of the Go- 
vernor, he resolved to return to Knoxville, and bring the quar- 
rel to a close. He had not, however, proceeded a mile vrhen 
he saw the Governor approaching, escorted by about twenty 
men. He had already prepared another note to the Governor, 
setting forth his manifold grievances, and, halting in the road, 
he sent his friend forward to deliver it. The Governor refu- 
sed to receive it. Out of patience with what he conceived to be 
an aggravation of former indignities, the General resolved to 
end the matter on the spot. He was armed with a brace of 
pistols at his saddle-bow and a cane ; the Governor with a 
brace of pistols and a sword. Advancing slowly until with- 
in one hundred yards of the Governor, he leveled his cane as 
ancient knights did their spears, put spurs to his horse, and 
charged upon his antagonist. Astounded at this bold and un- 
expected movement, the Governor's friends had not presence 
of mind enough to interpose ; and the Governor himself, dis- 
mounting to avoid the shock, trod on the scabbard of his sword, 
and was rendered incapable of resistance. A rally of his at- 
tendants prerented any very serious mischief. In the Gover- 
2ior's party were gentlemen who were as much the friends of 
General Jackson as of himself ; and through their intercession 
all further hostile intentions were abandoned, and the parties 
rode on some miles together. 



HIS DUEL WITH DICKINSON. 157 



DUEL WITH DICKINSON. 



General Jackson had a passion for fine horses. It became a 
_principal branch of his farming business to raise them from the 
best blooded stock imported from Virginia and North Carolina. 
The enthusiasm of his character displayed itself in his attach- 
jnent to favorite animals he had raised, and perhaps no man in 
the Western country was equally successful in that branch of 
agricultural pursuits. More as means to exhibit his stock and 
jecommend it to purchasers than to indulge in the practices 
common at such places, he brought out his favorite horses up- 
on the race-courses of the day, and, though not a sportsman, 
lost and won in many a well-contested field. An occasion of 
this sort, however, led to one of the most unfortunate incidents 
of his life. 

He had a favorite stud named Truxton. A Mr. Erwin and 
his son-in-law, Charles Dickinson, proffered a match race at 
^■2000 in cash notes, with a forfeiture of -f 800, between him 
and a favorite horse owned by them, called Ploughboy. The 
bet was accepted, and a list of notes made out; but when the 
•time for running arrived, Erwin and Dickinson chose to pay 
the forfeit. Erwin offered sundry notes not due, withholding 
the list which was in the hands of Dickinson. Jackson re- 
fused to receive them, and demanded the list, claiming the 
right to select from the noies described upon it. The list was 
produced, a selection made, and the affair satisfactorily adjust- 
ed. Afterward a rumor reached Dickinson that General Jack- 
son charged Erwin with producing a list of notee different 
from the true one. In an interview between Jackson and 
Dickinson, the former denied the statement, and the latter 
gave his author. Jackson instantly proposed to call him in ; 
but Dickinson declined. Meeting with the author afterward, 
Jackson had an altercation with him, which ended in blows. 
Here the affair ought to have ended. But, in addition to the 
ordinary talebearers, there were those who desired to produce 
a duel between Jackson and Dickinson. The latter was brave 
and reckless, a trader in blacks and blooded horses, and repu- 
ted to be the best shot in the country. A quarrel with such a 



158 LIFE or ANDREW JACESON. 

man as General Jackson was flattering to liis pride, and men 
were not wanting to take advantage of the weakness of the 
one party and the inflexibility of the other, to push matters to 
extremities. Exasperation was produced ; publication follow- 
ed publication ; insults were given and retorted ; until, at 
length, General Jackson was informed that a paper, more se- 
vere than its predecessors, was in the hands of the printer, 
and that Dickinson was about to leave the state. He flew to 
Nashville, and demanded a sight of it in the printer's hands. 
It was insulting in the highest degree, contained a direct im- 
putation of cowardice, and concluded with a notice that the 
first of the next week the author v\'ould leave for Maryland. 
A .stern challenge, demanding immediate satisfaction, was the 
consequence. The challenge was given the 23d of May, and 
Dickinson's publication appeared the next morning. Jackson, 
pressed for an instant meeting ; but by the other party it was 
postponed until the 30th, then to take place at Harrison's IMills, 
on Red E,iver, Vv'ithin the limits of Kentucky ; the distance 
twenty-four feet ; the parties to stand facing each other, with 
pistols down perpendicularly; and, at the signal word " Fire,'^ 
to fire as they pleased. Dickinson occupied the intermediate 
time in practising; and his ferocious boasts how often he had 
hit the General chalked out on a tree, and his unfeeling offers 
to bet that he would kill him at the approaching meeting, be- 
ing duly communicated, had an effect upon his antagonist 
which can be better conceived than described. Jackson went 
upon the ground w^ith a conviction that his life was eagerly 
sought, and the expectation of losing it, but with a determi- 
nation which such a conviction naturally inspired in a bosom 
which never knew fear. At the word, Dickinson fired, and 
the dust was seen to fly from Jackson's clothes : the next in- 
stant Jackson fired, and Dickinson fell. Jackson, with his 
friend and surgeon, left the ground, and had traveled about 
twenty miles towards home, when the latter first knew that 
the general was wounded by discovering blood oozing through 
his clothes. On examination, it was found that Dickinson's 
ball in passing had buried itself in his breast, shattering two 
of his ribs near their articulation with the breast bone. It was 
some weeks before he was able to attend to business. Dick- 



HIS ADVENTURE IN THE INDIAN COUNTRY. 159 

inson was taken to a neighboring house, where he survived 
but a few hours. 

The friends of Dickinson and the enemies of Jackson raised 
tales of unfairness in the fight; but these were put down, in 
the estimation of candid men, b}^ the certificates of the seconds 
that all had been done according to the previous understanding 
of the parties, and proof that Dickinson himself, though able 
to converse, never uttered a complaint before his death. The 
melancholy affair ended with various publications and certifi- 
cates characteristic of the times. 

The firmness of nerve exhibited by General Jackson on this 
occasion, has not ceased to be a subject of admiration. There 
are many brave men who can look danger in the face without 
the change of a muscle ; but few there are w^ho can hold a 
steady hand at the instant a leaden messenger of death is 
passing through their bodies. Not a man on the ground, ex- 
cept General Jackson himself, knew that he was wounded ; 
and every muscle was as quiet, and his hand as steady, as if 
he had not known it himself. The stern purpose which might 
in part have nerved him, was best described by himself, when 
a friend expressed astonishment at his self-command : " Sir," 
said he, " I should have killed him if he had shot me through 
the brain." 



HIS ADVENTURE IN THE INDIAN COUNTRY. 

In 1811, Jack.son had occasion to visit Natchez, in the Mis- 
sissippi Territory, for the purpose of bringing up a number of 
blacks, a part of whom had become his property in conse- 
quence of having been security for a friend, and the remainder 
were hands which had been employed by a nephevv^ in the 
neighborhood of that place. The road led through the Chick- 
asaw and Choctaw nations of Indians, and the station of the 
Indian agent for the Choctaws was upon it. On reaching the 
agency, he found seven or eight families of emigrants and two 
members of the JMississippi Legislative Council detained by 
the agent, under the pretence that it was necessary for them 
to have passports from the Governor of jVIississippi. One of 
their number had been sent forward to procure them. In the 



160 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSOX, 

•mean time, the emigrants were buying corn from the agent at 
an extravagant price, and splitting rails for him at a very 
moderate one. Indignant at the wrong inflicted on the emi- 
grants, he reproached the members of the Council for submit- 
ting to the detention, and asked the agent how he dared to 
demand a pass from a free American, traveling on a public 
road. The agent replied by inquiring, Avith much temper, 
whether he had a pass. " Yes, sir," rejoined the general, " I 
always carry mine with me. I am a free-born American citi- 
zen ; and that, under the Constitution and laws, is my passport 
to go wherever my business calls me." He told the emigrants 
to gear up their wagons, and if any one attempted to obstruct 
them, to shoot him down as a highway robber. Setting them 
the example, he continued his journey, regardless of the 
threats of the agent. 

Before he had concluded his business, he was informed that 
the agent had collected about fifty white men and one hundred 
Indians to stop him on his return, unless he produced a pass- 
port. Though advised to procure one, he refused to do so, 
stating that the American citizen should never in his person 
be subjected to the insult and indignity of procuring a pass to 
enable him to travel a public highway in his own country. 
Like all travelers through the Indian country, at that time, he 
was armed with a brace of pistols ; and having added a rifle, 
and another pistol, he commenced his return journey. By a 
friend who had gone forward to reconnoitre, he was informed, 
when within a few miles of the agency, that the agent had 
his force in readiness to stop him. He bade his friend advance, 
and tell the agent, that if he attempted to stop him, it would 
be at the peril of his life. He then put his blacks in order, 
armed with their axes and clubs, told them not to stop until 
directed by him, and if any one offered to oppose them, to cut 
liim down at his order. Riding by their side, he approached 
the agency, when the agent appeared, and asked him whether 
he would stop. " That," replied the general, " depends on 
circumstances. I have been informed that you are prepared 
to prevent my passing here by force. I intend to pass ; and 
whoever attempts to prevent me, shall lay low;" and, with a 
look not to be mistaken, he grasped his rifle with a firmer grip. 



) 



AFFRAY WITH COLONEL BENTON. 161 

The agent said he had no such design, and did not attempt to 
interrupt him. 

AFFRAY WITH COLONEL BENTON. 

After his return from Natchez, he had been called upon by 
iiis friend, the late Governor Carroll, to act as his second in an 
affair of honor with a brother of Colonel Thomas H. Benton, 
in which that brother was severely wounded. Colonel Ben- 
ton, who was then at Washington, thought the relations which 
existed between him and General Jackson ought to have pre- 
vented the latter from acting against his brother, while Gen- 
eral Jackson thought his relations with Carroll required from 
him that act of friendship. A correspondence passed between 
the parties, which, however, only widened the breach, and it 
ended in a tight at a public-house in Nashville, in which Gen- 
eral Jackson's left arm was shattered by a pistol shot. 



ADOPTION OF AN INDIAN BOY. 

Am.ong the slain at the battle on the Coosa, fought by Jackson 
ton the 3d of November, 1813, was found an Indian woman with 
-an infant boy, unhurt, sucking her lifeless breast. The lit- 
tle orphan was carried to camp with the other prisoners, and 
General Jackson attempted to hire some of the captive women 
to take care of him. They refused, saying, " All his relations 
are dead, kill him too." The General had a little brown su- 
gar left, and he directed his attendants to make feed of sugar 
and water for the child until he should reach Huntsville, 
where he sent him to be nursed at his expense. Upon his re- 
turn from the campaign, he took the child home, named him 
Lincoyer, and with the cordial aid of Mrs. Jackson, raised 
him as tenderly as if he had been his own son. He grew to 
be a beautiful and robust young man, as well educated as the 
, white boys of the most respectable families. Yet his tastes 
\vere always Indian. He delighted in rambling over the fields 
*and through the woods, sticking into his hair and clothes every 
I gay feather he could find. He was always anxious to return 
to the Creek nation with the chiefs who, for many years after 
11 



162 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

the war, continued to visit the Hermitage. Desiring that he: 
should follow some mechanical employment, General Jackson 
took him into the various shops in Nashville, that he might 
choose his trade. He was best pleased with the saddler's busi- 
ness, and was accordingly bound out as an apprentice to that 
trade. Regularly every other Saturday he visited the Hermi- 
tage, and generally was sent to Nashville on horse-back the 
next Monday morning. Failing in health, the General took 
him home to the Hermitage, where he was nursed with a fa- 
ther's and mother's tenderness ; but in vain. He went rapidly 
into a consumption, and, not yet arrived at manhood, sunk in- 
to the grave. By the General and Mrs. Jackson he was- 
mourned as a favorite son, and they always spoke of him 
with parental affection. 

HIS PHILANTHROPY. 

Among the sick, on his return with his volunteers from 
Natchez, was a young man reported by the surgeon to be in a 
dying condition, whom it was useless to remove. " Not a man 
shall be left who has life in him," said the General. The 
young man was lifted into a wagon in a state of torpor, and 
wholly insensible. The melancholy march commenced ; and 
the General, with parental solicitude, passed along the train, 
taking special care that the invalids should, in position and 
appliances, have every comfort of which their situation was 
susceptible. With peculiar anxiety he watched the apparent- 
ly dying youth, as he was jostled by the movements of the 
wagon. At length the young man opened his eyes, and the 
next instant exclaimed, " Where am I ?" 

" On your way home, my good fellow," replied the General, in 
a cheering tone. The effect was electric ; he improved from 
that moment, and in a few weeks the General had the pleas- 
ure of restoring him, in good health, to his family and friends. 



FEEDING ON ACORNS. 



When General Jackson started on his expedition to relieve 
Talladega, he had on hand scarcely one day's provisions, 
was his expectation to collect supplies from the Indian coun 



J 

It' 



FEEDING ON ACORKfcJ. 163" 

try ahead; but tlie failure of General White to occupy Fort 
Strotlier made an instant retreat absolutely necessary Already 
had his foraging parties gleaned up every thing in the shape 
of food for man and horse which could be found in the vicin- 
ity of the fort : and it was with a starving army that he turned 
back from the field of victory, after burying his dead and pro- 
viding transportation for the wounded. 

From the occupants of the relieved fort he purchased a 
small quantity of provisions, being all they had to spare; but 
they were not a meal for his army. 

The General and his men w^ere equally destitute, and with 
eagerness seized on any thing w^hich the forest presented to 
gratify the cravings of hunger. While marching with the 
van of his army, General Jackson observed under an oak tree 
a quantity of acorns, which tempted his appetite. Dismount-- 
ing, he gathered some handfulls of them into his pocket, and,^ 
holding his bridle in one hand, sat down on the roots of a 
tree to enjoy his repast, while the rear came up. A soldier 
observing him in the act of eating, and supposing that he had 
taken care to provide for himself, while his men were starving, 
approached and demanded something to eat. " I never turn 
away the hungry," said the General, " while I have any thing 
to give them." Thrusting his hand into his pocket and offer- 
ing the soldier a few acorns, he added, " I will most cheerful- 
ly divide with you such food as I have." Struck with surprise, 
the soldier reported the incident to his companions, who, for 
the time, cheerfully submitted to privations which they knew 
were shared in common by them and their commander. 



QUELLING A MUTINY. 

During his Creek campaign great difficulties grew out of the 
scarcity of provisions. So long as the aspect of the army was 
forward, and an expectation of soon meeting the enemy occu- 
pied the minds of the men, they cheerfully submitted to priva- 
tion, and with alacrity comphed with every wish of their com- 
mander But their eagerness for battle had been satisfied at 
Talluschatchee and Talladega, and when, instead of advancing 
to new" conflicts, they found themselves in retreat, harassed by 



164 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

an enemy which no valor could repel, their spirits sank with- 
in them, and their thoughts turned upon home. Cruelly neg- 
lected by their country, whose battles they had fought, resent- 
ment and discontent took possession of their bosoms. Increas- 
ing from day to day, and extending from individuals to com- 
panies, and from companies to regiments, they soon threaten- 
ed an entire dissolution of the army. The volunteers, though 
deeply im.bued with tlvis feeling, were at first restrained from 
any public exhibition of it by their soldierly pride ; but the mi- 
litia regiments determined to leave the camp, and return to 
Tennessee. Apprized of their intention. General Jackson re- 
solved to defeat it ; and as they drew out in the morning to 
commence their march, they found the volunteers drawn up 
across their path, with orders to require them, under penalty 
of instant military execution, to return to their position. They 
at once obeyed, admiring the' firmness which baffled their de- 
sign. 

In this operation the volunteers had been unwilling instru- 
-ments in the hands of their general, and, chagrined at their 
•^own success, resolved themselves the next day to abandon the 
camp in a body. What was their surprise, on making a move- 
ment to accomplish that object, to iind the very militia whose 
mutiny they had the day before repressed, drawn up in the 
same position to resist them ! So determined was their look, 
that the volunteers deemed it prudent to carry out the parallel, 
and returned quietly to their quarters. This process, by which 
nearly a whole army, anxious to desert, was kept Sn service 
by arraying one species of force against another, though eifec- 
tual for the moment, would not bear repetition, and the gener- 
al was sensible how feeble was the thread by which he held 
them together. The cavalry, who not only shared in the gen- 
eral privation, but had no forage, petitioned for permission to 
retire to the vicinity of Huntsville, pledging themselves to re- 
turn when called on, after recruiting their horses and receiving 
their winter clothing. Their petition was granted, and they 
immediately left the camp. 

Having received letters from Colonel Pope, assuring him 
that abundant supplies were on the way, General Jackson re- 
solved to make an effort to produce good feeling throughout 



QUELLING A MUTINY. 165 

his army, and induce them to give him their cheerful obedi- 
ence until he should be able to strike a decisive blow. He 
therefore called them together, laid this information before 
them, painted in glowing colors their devotion to their coun- 
try, their services and their sufferings, depicted the miseries 
they would bring on their own sick and w^ounded companions, 
and upon the defenseless frontier settlers, and the deep and ir- 
retrievable disgrace upon themselves, if they were now to 
abandon the service and dissolve the army. He presented ev- 
ery consideration which could operate on the heads and hearts 
of patriotic, brave, humane, and proud men, and requested them 
to confer together that night, and communicate to him their 
views the next morning. Judging others by his own devoted 
heart, he could not but believe that such an appeal would be 
effectual. 

With mortification and grief, he received from the officers of 
the volunteer regiments in the morning the annunciation that, 
in their opinion, " Nothing short of marching the army imme- 
diately back to the settlements could prevent those difficulties 
and that disgrace which must attend a forcible desertion of the 
camp by his soldiers." The officers of the militia reported 
their willingness to v/ait a few da5^s longer for a supply of 
provisions, and, if it should be received, proceed with the cam- 
paign ; otherwise, to be marched back where supplies could be 
procured. To preserve the volunteers for farther service, if 
possible, the general determined to gratify their wishes, and 
ordered General Hall to lead them back to Fort Deposit, there 
to obtain relief for themselves, and then to return as an escort 
to the provisions. The second regiment of volunteers, how- 
ever, ashamed to be found less loyal than the militia, begged 
permission to remain with their general, and the first regiment 
marched alone. It is impossible to describe the emotions of 
General Jackson, when he saw a regiment of brave men, 
whom he had refused to abandon at Natchez even at the com- 
mand of his government, for the preservation of whose well- 
earned fame he would have hazarded his life, deserting him m 
the wilderness, reckless of honor, of patriotism, of gratitude,, 
and humanity. 

Again, on the 16th of November, writing to Colonel Pope^. 



166 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

he says : " My men are all starving. More than half of them 
left me yesterday for Fort Deposit in consequence of the scarci- 
ty, and the whole will do so in a few days if plentiful supplies 
do not arrive. Again and again I must entreat you to spare 
neither labor nor expense to furnish me, and furnish me with- 
out delay. We have already struck the blow which would, 
if followed up, put an end to Creek hostility. I cannot ex- 
press the torture of my feelings when I reflect that a campaign 
so auspiciously begun, and which might be so soon and so glo- 
riously terminated, is likely to be rendered abortive for the 
want of supplies. For God's sake, prevent so great an evil." 

In his address to the army on the 14th, General Jackson had 
told them that in case supplies did not reach them within two 
days, he would lead them back where provisions could be had. 
Two days had elapsed after the departure of the volunteers, 
and no supplies had come. The declaration had been made in 
the confident expectation that provisions, then known to be on 
the way, would reach them before the expiration of that peri- 
od ; but the general felt bound to comply with his word. He 
immediately proceeded to make arrangements for the abandon- 
ment of Fort Strother ; but, contemplating the new courage 
with which it would inspire the enemy, the calamities it was 
likely to bring on the frontiers, and the disgrace upon his ar- 
my, if not on himself, he exclaimed, " If only two men will 
remain with me, I will never abandon this post." <« You have 
one, general," promptly replied Captain Gordon, of the spies ; 
" let us look if we cannot find another." The captain immedi- 
ately beat up for volunteers, and, with the aid of some of the 
general staff", soon raised one hundred and nine, who agreed to 
stand by their general to the last extremity. 

Confident that supplies were at hand, the general marched 
with the militia, announcing that they would be ordered back 
if provisions should be met at no great distance from the fort. 
Within ten or twelve miles they met a drove of a hundred and 
fifty beeves. They halted, butchered, and ate ; but the courage 
inspired by satiety was that of mutineers. Upon receiving an 
order to return, with the exception of a small party to convey 
the sick and wounded, they resolved to disobey it. One com- 
pany resumed its march homeward before General Jackson 



CAMP DISCIPLINE. 167 

was apprized of their design. Informed of this movement, he 
hastened to a spot about a quarter of a mile ahead, where 
General Coftee, with a part of the staff and a few soldiers, had 
halted, and ordered them insta,ntly to form across the road, and 
fire on the mutineers if they should attempt to pass. Rather 
than encounter the hold faces before them, the mutinous com- 
pany thought it expedient to return to the main body, and it 
was hoped that no farther opposition would be exhibited. 

Going alone for the purpose of mixing among his men, and 
appeasing them by argument and remonstrance, the general 
found a spirit of mutiny pervading the whole brigade. The)" 
had formed, and were on the point of moving off, knowing 
that no force was at hand powerful enough to resist them ; 
but they had to deal with a man who was a host in himself. 
He seized a musket, threw it across his horse's neck, placed 
himself in front of the brigade drawn up in column, and de- 
clared he would shoot the first man who took a step in ad- 
vance. Struck v.'ith awe, the men gazed at him in sullen si- 
lence. In this position. General Coffee and some of the mem- 
bers of his staff rode up, and placed themselves at his side. 
The faithful officers and soldiers, amounting to about two 
companies, formed in his rear, under orders to lire when he 
did. For some minutes not a word was uttered. A murmur 
then arose among the mutineers, and at length they signified 
their willingness to return. The matter was amicably arrang- 
ed, and the troops marched back to Fort Strother, though not 
in the best spirits. 

This incident derives additional interest from the facts, that 
the general's left arm was not so far healed as to enable him 
to aim a musket, and the one he had was too much out of or- 
der to be fired. 



CAMP DISCIPLINE. 

John Wood, a private in the West Tennessee militia, was 
one of the men engaged under the order of General Roberts, 
who, after being mustered into service and approaching near 
the camp, mutinied and returned home, because the command- 
ing general would not exceed his authority in giving them a 



168 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

positive promise of payment for an illegal tour of duty. With- 
others, he had afterward returned and been pardoned. In a 
few weeks, however, his refractory spirit again exhibited itself 
in positive disobedience of orders, insulting language towards 
his commanding officer, and open mutiny. For these crimes 
he was tried by a court-martial, found guilty, and sentenced 
to suffer death by shooting. This sentence was approved by 
General Jackson, and on the 14th of March carried into effect. 
To produce the intended effect on the minds of the militia, an 
address by the general to the prisoner was read in the shape, 
of a general order, setting forth the enormity of his ofienses, 
the absolute necessity for order and obedience in an army, the 
determination of the general to enforce them, and concluding 
as follows : 

«' This is an important crisis, in which, if we all act as be- 
comes us, everything is to be hoped for towards the accom- 
plishment of the objects of our government ; if otherwise, 
everything to be feared. How it becomes us to act, we all 
know ; and what our punishment shall be if we act otherwise, 
must be known also. The law, which points out the one, 
prescribes the other. Between that law and its offender the 
commanding general ought not to be expected to interfere, and 
he will not, where there are no circumstances of alleviation. 
There appear to be none such in your case; and, however, as 
a man, he may deplore your unhappy situation, he cannot, as 
an officer, w^ithout infringing his duty, arrest the sentence of 
the court-martial." 



ASSAULT OF LIEUTENANT RANDOLPH. 

On the 6th of May, 1833, Gen. Jackson, with the members of 
his Cabinet, and his Private Secretary, left Washington in 
compliance with the invitation of the '< Monumental Commit- 
tee" at Fredericksburg, to lay the corner-stone of the pillar, 
to be erected in honor of the mother of Washington. The 
President and his party embarked in the large and commodi- 
ous steamer Cygnet. "The day," says a correspondent of the 
N. Y. Mirror, " was mild, and the air soft and refreshing. 
After the company had assembled on board, they paid their 



IS ASSAULTED BY LIEUTENANT RANDOLPH. 169 

respects to the Executive, which that venerable patriot re- 
ceived with the ease and grace of the most finished gentleman 
of the old school. They then separated ; some of the party 
went upon the upper deck, to admire the picturesque and 
beautiful scenery of the surrounding country, whence, from 
the north round to the south, lay aline of high grounds, form- 
ing within their interior an extensive amphitheatre. On the 
south, the broad and peaceful Potomac, stretching as far as 
the, eye could reach. On the eastern branch of the river was- 
te be seen the navy yard, and several of the public armed ves- 
sels lying in the stream, with our flag floating on tl\e breeze; 
and, on the western branch, we had a distant but beautiful 
view of Georgetown, as it slopes from the high grounds to the 
river: and between that and the navy yard, was to be seen 
the city of Washington, whence we had just taken our depart- 
ure ; and from our situation we had, at one glance, a view of 
the bridge crossing the river, which exceeds a mile in extent, 
the Chief INIagistrate's house, and the Capitol, with its splen- 
did dome, rearing its head over every other object. Among 
those who went upon the upper deck were the heads of de- 
partment. A group of ladies, with their attendants, were 
seated in the after part of the boat ; and an excellent band of 
music was playing several national airs, as the steamer glided 
on her way, and shortly arrived at the city of Alexandria. 
General Jackson had, just previous to the boat's reaching the 
wharf, retired to the cabin, and had taken his seat at a long 
table, which had been set preparatory for dinner. He was 
seated on the west side, and next to the berths, there being, 
barely room enough left between the berths and table for a, 
person to pass, by moving sidewise. Upon his left sat Mrs. 
Thruston, the wife of Judge Thruston, of Washington ; and 
on the opposite side of the table sat Major Donelson, the Ge- 
neral's private secretary ; Mr. Potter, a clerk in one of the 
departments at Washington : and Captain Broome, of the ma- 
rine corps. The President was reading a newspaper. While 
in this situation, (there being no other person in the cabin or 
near him,) a large number of citizens came on board, as it was 
supposed to pay their respects to him. Among the number 



170 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON, 

was Randolph, late a lieutenant in the navy. He made his 
way into the cabin, and after speaking to Captain Broome, 
who had long been acquainted with him, he immediately ad- 
vanced between the table and the berths toward the President, 
as if to address him. The President did not know him, and it 
seems that Captain Broome did not mention his name, because, 
he said, he believed that the object of his visit was to present 
a petition praying to be restored to the navy again ; still, as 
the Captain did not know that that was the object of his 
visit, and fearing, as he said, that he might intend to commit 
some act of violence, he stepped quickly to the same side of 
the table, and advanced up to and near Randolph, who had by 
this time come so near General Jackson as to be observed by 
him, who, supposing it was some person about to salute him, 
said that he was afflicted with a severe pain in his side, and 
begged to be excused for not rising ; and seeing that Randolph 
had some difficulty in pulling ofi" his glove, he stretched out 
his hand toward him, saying, at the same time, "Never mind 
your glove, sir." Upon this, Randolph thrust one hand violently 
into the President's face; but, before he could make use of the 
other, or repeat his blow, Captain Broome seized and drew him 
off toward the door. A part of the table was broken down 
in the scuffle. Mr. Potter thrust his umbrella at Randolph 
across the table, at the moment Captain Broome seized him ; 
whereupon, Randolph's friends clenched him, hurried him out 
of the cabin, and off from the boat, leaving his hat behind. 
This was done so quickly, that the few persons who were 
near the President were not aware of it, as they had all turn- 
ed round after pushing Randolph away, to inquire whether or 
not the Chief Magistrate was much hurt. He was so confi- 
ned behind the table, that he could not rise with ease, nor 
could he seize his cane in time to defend himself. The news 
of this outrage was soon circulated around the boat, and at 
first it seemed so incredible that no one could be found to be- 
lieve it ; all, however, immediately repaired to the cabin, and 
heard the President relate the story himself. 

« Had I been apprised," said he, "that Randolph stood be- 
fore me, I should have been prepared for him, and I could 



INTERVIEW WITH JUDGE DOUGLASS. 171 

have defended myself. No villain," said he, " has ever esca- 
ped me before ; and he would not, had it not been for my con- 
lined situation." 

Some blood was seen on his face, and he was asked whether 
he had been much injured .' 

« No," said he, " I am not much hurt ; but in endeavoring 
to rise, I have wounded my side, which now pains me more 
than it did." 

About this time, one of the citizens of Alexandria, who 
had heard of the outrage, addressed the General, and said : 
« Sir, if you will pardon me, in case I am tried and convicted, 
I will kill Randolph for this insult to you, in fifteen min- 
utes !"* 

« No, sir," said the President, " I cannot do that. I want 
no man to stand between me and my assailants, and none to 
take revenge on my account. Had I been prepared for this 
cowardly villain's approach, I can assure you all, that he would 
never have the temerity to undertake such a thing again. 

INTERVIEW WITH JUDGE DOUGLASS. 

While attending the Nashville Convention of August, 1844, 
we visited the Hermitage, (only twelve miles distant,) in com- 
pany with Judge Douglass, of Illinois, and some other of our 
fellow-citizens. The Hermitage was crowded with people 
from almost every State, who had been invited thither by the 
venerable patriot on the day succeeding the Convention. 

Governor Clay, of Alabama, was near General Jackson, 
who was himself sitting on the sofa in the hall of his resi- 
dence ; and as each person entered. Governor Clay introduced 
him to the Hero, and he passed along. When Judge Douglass 
•was thus introduced. General Jackson raised his still brilliant 
eyes, and gazed for a moment in the countenance of the Judge, 
still Retaining his hand : " Are you the Mr. Douglass of Illi- 
nois, who delivered a speech last session on the subject of the 
fine imposed on me for declaring martial law at New-Orleans ?" 
asked General Jackson. 

*It has been well remarked, that this proposal was more insult- 
ing than the assault. 



172 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON, 

" I have delivered a speech in the House of Representatives 
upon that subject," was the modest reply of our friend. 

"Then stop!" said General Jackson, "Sit down here, be- 
side me ! I desire to return to you my thanks for that speech. 
You are the first man that has ever relieved my mind on a 
subject which has rested upon it for thirty years. My ene- 
mies have always charged me with violating the Constitution 
of my country, by declaring martial law at New-Orleans ; and 
my friends have always admitted the violation, but have con- 
tended that the circumstances justified me in that violation. I 
never could understand how it was, that the performance of a 
solemn duty to my country — a duty which, if I had neglected 
to perform, would have made me a traitor in the sight of God 
and man — could properly be pronounced a violation of the 
Constitution. I felt convinced in my own mind, that I was 
not guilty of such a henious offense ; but I could never make 
out a legal justification of my course ; nor has it ever been 
done, sir, until you, on the floor of Congress, at the late ses- 
sion, established it beyond the possibility of cavil or doubt. 

"I thank you, sir, for that speech. It has relieved my 
mind from the only circumstance that rested painfully upon it. 
Throughout my whole life, I never performed an official act 
which I viewed as a violation of the Constitution of my 
country ; and I can now go down to the grave in peace, with 
the perfect consciousness that I have not broken, at any period 
of my life, the Constitution or laws of my country." 



PERSONAL ADDRESS OF GENERAL JACKSON. 

" Nature had poured out her gifts lavishly upon him — en- 
dowing him with an intellect of extraordinary vigor — a will 
of iron — and, at the same time, a suavity of manner and an 
elegance of demeanor, which, all combined, would have made 
him a man of " mark and note" in any part of the world. Few 
men excelled him in personal address, and he impressed all 
who approached him with the opinion that they were in the 
presence of a being of no ordinary character. We well re- 
member to have heard a distinguished diplomatist assert that, 
in his carriage and bearing as President of the United States, 



HIS PERSONAL ADDRESS. 173 

he seemed to possess intuitively, and to display, without an 
effort, qualities which other individuals did not exhibit, whose 
whole lives had been passed in the most refined Courts of 
Europe. He had the power, beyond most men, of infusing his 
own spirit and opinions into those who came near him, and of 
arousing their personal attachment." 



CHAPTER VII. 



PRESIDENT JACKSON'S MESSAGE TO THE SENATE OF THE UNI- 
TED STATES, RETURNING THE BILL FOR RE-CHARTERING 
THE UNITED STATES BANK, WITH HIS OBJECTIONS. 

TO THE SENATE : 

The bill " to modify and continue" the act entitled " An act 
to incorporate the subscribers to the Bank of the United States," 
was presented to me on the 4th of July instant. Having con- 
sidered it with that solemn regard to the principles of the consti- 
tution which the day was calculated to inspire, and come to 
the conclusion that it ought not to become a law, I herewith 
return it to the Senate, in which it originated, with my objec- 
tions. 

A Bank of the United States is, in many respects, conveni- 
ent for the Government, and useful to the people. Entertain- 
ing this opinion, and deeply impressed with the belief that 
some of the powers and privileges possessed by the existing 
Bank are unauthorized by the constitution, subversive of the 
rights of the States, and dangerous to the liberties of the peo- 
ple, I felt it my duty, at an early period of my administration, 
to call the attention of Congress to the practicability of organ- 
izing an institution combining all its advantages, and obviating 
these objections. I sincerely regret that, in the act before me 
I can perceive none of those modifications of the Bank char- 
ter which are necessary, in my opinion, to make it compatible 
with justice, with sound policy, or with the Constitution of 
our country. 

The present corporate body, denominated the President, Di- 
rectors, and Company of the Bank of the United States, will 
have existed, at the time this act is intended to take effect, 
twenty years. It enioys an exclusive privilege of banking 



VETO OF THE BANK BILL. 175 

under the authority of the General Government, a monopoly 
of its favor and support, and, as a necessary consequence, al- 
inost a monopoly of the foreign and domestic exchange. The 
.>owers, privileges, and favors hestowed upon it in the origi- 
nal charter, by increasing the value of the stock far above its 
par value, operated as a gratuity of many millions to the 
stockholders. 

An apology may be found for the failure to guard against 
this result, in the consideration that the effect of the original 
act of incorporation could not be certainly foreseen at the 
time of its passage. The act before me proposes another gra- 
tuity to the holders of the same stock, and in many cases to 
the same men, of at least seven millions more. This donation 
finds no apology in any uncertainty as to the effect of the act. 
On all hands, it is conceded, that its passage will increase, at 
least twenty or thirty per cent more, the market price of the 
stock, subject to the payment of the annuity of ^200,000 per 
year, secured by the act; thus adding in a moment, one-fourth 
to its par value. It is not our own citizens only who are to 
receive the bounty of our Government. More than eight 
millions of the stock of this Bank are held by foreigners. By 
this act the American republic proposes virtually to make 
them a present of some millions of dollars. For these gratu- 
ities to foreigners, and to some of our own opulent citizens, 
the act secures no equivalent whatever. They are the cer- 
tain gains of the present stockholders, under the operation of 
this act, after making full allowance for the payment of the 
bonus. 

Every monopoly, and all exclusive privileges, are granted at 
the expense of the public, which ought to receive a fair equiv- 
alent. The many millions which this act proposes to bestow 
on the stockholders of the existing Bank, must come, directly 
or indirectly, out of the earnings of the American people. It 
is due to them, therefore, if their Government sell monopolies 
and exclusive privileges, that they should at least exact for 
them as much as they are worth in open market. The value 
of the monopoly in this case may be correctly ascertained. 
The twenty-eight millions of stock would probably be at an 
advance of fifty per cent, and command in market at least forty 



k 



176 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

two millions of dollars, subject to the payment of the present 
loans. The present value of the monopoly, therefore, is seven- 
teen millions of dollars, and this the act proposes to sell for 
three millions, payable in fifteen annual installments, $|i200,- 
000 each. 

It is not conceivable how the present stockholders can have 
any claim to the special favor of the Government. The pres- 
ent corporation has enjoyed its monopoly during the period 
stipulated in the original contract. If we must have such a 
corporation, why should not the Government sell out the 
whole stock, and thus secure to the people the full market val- 
ue of the privileges granted ? Why should not Congress cre- 
ate and sell the twenty-eight millions of stock, incorporating the 
purchasers with all the powers and privileges secured in this 
act, and putting the premium upon the sales into the Treasury? 

But this act does not permit competition in the purchase of 
this monopoly. It seems to be predicated on the erroneous 
idea, that the present stockholders have a prescriptive right, 
not only to the favor, but to the bounty of the Government. It 
appears that more than a fourth part of the stock is held by for- 
eigners, and the residue is held by a few hundred of our citi- 
zens, chiefly of the richest class ; for their benefit does this act 
exclude the whole American people from competition in the 
purchase of this monopoly, and dispose of it for many millions 
less than it is worth. This seems the less excusable, because 
some of our citizens, not now stockholders, petitioned that the 
door of competition might be opened, and offered to take a char- 
ter on terms much more favorable to the government and coun- 
try. 

But this proposition, although made by men whose aggre- 
gate wealth is believed to be equal to all the private stock in 
the existing Bank, has been set aside, and the bounty of our 
Government is proposed to be again bestowed on the few who 
have been fortunate enough to secure the stock, and, at this 
moment, wield the power of the existing institution. I cannot 
perceive the justice or policy of this course. If our Govern- 
ment must sell monopolies, it would seem to be its duty to 
take nothing less than their full value; and if gratuities must 
be made once in fifteen or twenty years, let them not be be- 



VETO OF THE BANK BILL. 177 

.■stowed on the subject.s of a foreign government, nor upon a 
designated or favorable class of men in our own country. It 
is but justice and good policy, as far as the nature of the case 
will admit, to confine our favors to our own fellow citizens, 
and let each in his turn enjoy an opportunity to profit by our 
bounty. In the bearings of the act before me upon these 
points, I find ample reasons why it should not become a law. 

It has been urged as an argument in favor of re-chartering 
the present Bank, that calling in its loans will produce 
:great embarrassment and distress. The time allowed to close 
its concerns is ample, and if it has been well managed its pres- 
:sure will be light, and heavy only in case its management has 
»been bad. If, therefore, it shall produce distress, the fault 
will be its own, and it would furnish a reason against renew- 
ing a power which has been so obviously abused. But will 
there ever be a time when this reason will be less powerful ? 
To acknovviedge its force is to admit that the Bank ought to be 
perpetual, and as a consequence, the present stockholders, and 
those inheriting their rights, as successors, be established a 
privileged order, clothed both with great political power, and 
enjoying immense pecuniary advantages from their connection 
with the government. 

The modifications of the existing charter, proposed by this 
act, are not such, in my view, as make it consistent \vith the 
rights of the States, or the liberties of the people. The quali- 
fication of the right of the Bank to hold real estate, the limi- 
tation of its power to establish branches, and the power re- 
served to Congress to forbid the circulation of small notes, are 
restrictions comparatively of Httle value or importance. All 
the objectionable principles of the existing corporation, and 
most of its odious features, are retained without alleviation. 

The fourth section provides " that the notes or bills of the 
said corporation, although the same be on the faces thereof, 
respectively made payable at one place only, shall, neverthe- 
less, be received by the said corporation at the Bank, or at any 
of the ofiices of discount and deposite thereof, if tendered in 
liquidation or payment of any balance or balances due to said 
corporation, or to such office of discount and deposite from 
any other incorporated Bank." This provision secures to the 
12 



178 LirE OF ANDREW JACKSCN. 

State Banks a legal privilege in the Bank of the United State?, 
which is withheld from all private citizens. If a State Bank 
in Philadelphia owe the Bank of the United States, and have 
notes issued by the St. Louis Branch, it can pay the debt with 
those notes ; but if a merchant, mechanic, or other private 
citizen, be in like circumstances, he cannot by law pay his 
debt with those notes, but must sell them at a discount, or 
send them to St. Louis to be cashed. This boon conceded to 
the State Banks, though not unjust in itself, is most odious, 
because it does not measure out equal justice to the high and 
the low, the rich and the poor. 

To the extent of its practical effect, it is a bond of union 
among the banking establishments of the nation, erecting them 
into an interest separate from that of the people, and its ne- 
cessary tendency is to unite the Bank of the United States 
and the State Banks in any measure which may be thought • 
conducive to their common interest. 

The ninth section of the act recognizes principles of worse 
tendency than any provision of the present charter. 

It enacts that the " Cashier of the Bank shall annually re- 
port to the Secretary of the Treasury the names of all stock- 
holders who are not resident citizens of the United States ; and 
on the application of the Treasurer of any State, shall make 
out, and transmit to such Treasurer a list of stockholders re- 
siding in, or citizens of such State, with the amount owned 
by each." 

Although this provision, taken in connection with a decis- 
ion of the Supreme Court, surrenders, by its silence, the rjght 
of the States to tax the banking institutions created by this 
corporation, under the name of branches, throughout the Un- 
ion, it is evidently intended to be construed as a concession of 
their right to tax that portion of the stock which may be held 
by their own citizens and residents. In this light, if the act 
becomes a law, it vrill be understood by the States, who will 
probably proceed to levy a tax equal to that paid upon the 
f^tock of banks incorporated by themselves. In some States 
that tax is now, one per cent, either on the capital or on the 
shares; and that may be assumed as the amount which all 
citizens or resident stockholders would be taxed under the op- 



VETO OF THE BANK BILL. 179 

eration of this act. As it is only the stock held in the States, 
and not that employed within them, which would be subject 
to taxation, and as the names of foreign stockholders are not 
to be reported to the treasurers of the States, it is obvious that 
the stock held by them will be exem.pt from this burden. 
Their annual profits will, therefore, be increased one per cent 
more than the citizen stockholders ; and as the annual divi- 
dends of the Bank may be safely estimated at seven per cent, 
the stock will be worth ten or fifteen per cent more to for- 
eigners than to citizens of the United States. To appreciate 
the effect which this state of things will produce, v/e must 
take a brief review of the operations and present condition of 
the Bank of the United States. 

By documents submitted to Congress at the present session, 
it appears that, on the 1st of January, 1832, of the 28,000,000 
of private stock, in the corporation, 8,405,500 were held by 
foreigners, mostly of Great Britain. The amount of stock 
held in the nine Western States is 140,200 dollars; and in the- 
four Southern States is 5,623,100 dollars; and in the Eastern 
and Middle States about 13,522,000 dollars. The profits of 
the Bank in 1831, as shown in a statement of Congress, were 
about 3,455,598 dollars; of this there accrued in the nine 
Western States about 1,640,048 dollars; in the four Southern 
States about 352,507 dollars; and in the Middle and Eastern; 
States about 1,463,041 dollars. As little stock is held in the 
West, it is obvious that the debt of the people in that sectiori 
to the Bank is principally a debt to the Eastern and foreign 
stockholders; that the interest they pay upon it is carried into 
the Eastern States and into Europe ; and that it is a burden 
upon their industry, and a drain of their currency, which no 
country can bear without inconvenience and occasional dis- 
":ess. To meet this burden, and equalize the exchange ope- 
, .itions of the Bank, the amount of specie drav/n from those 
States, through its branches, within the last two years, as 
shown by its official report, was about 6,000,000 dollars. 
More than half a million of this amount does not stop in the 
Eastern States, but passes on to Europe, to pay the dividends 
to the foreign stockholders. In the principle of taxation re- 
cognized by this act, the Western States had no adequate com- 



180 " LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

pensatio.u for this perpetual burden on their industry, and drain 
upon their currency. The Branch Bank at Mobile made, last 
year, 95,140 dollars ; yet, under the provisions of this act, the 
State of Alabama can raise no revenue from these profitable op- 
erations, because not a share of the stock is held by any of 
her citizens. Mississippi and Missouri are in the same condi- 
tion in relation to the branches at Natchez and St. Louis, and 
such, in a greater or less degree, is the condition of every 
Western State. The tendency of the plan of taxation which 
this act proposes, will be to place the whole United States in 
the same relation to foreign countries which the Western 
iStates bear to the Eastern. When, by a tax on resident stock- 
holders, the stock of this Bank is made worth ten or fifteen 
per cent more to foreigners than to residents, most of it will 
inevitably leave the country. 

Thus will this provision, in its practical effect, deprive the 
Eastern as well as the Southern and Western States of the 
means of raising a revenue from the extension of business 
and the great profits of this institution. It will make the 
American people debtors to aliens in nearly the whole amount 
due to this Bank, and send across the Atlantic from two to 
five millions of specie every year, to pay the Bank dividends 

In another of its bearings, this provision is fraught with 
danger. Of the twenty-five directors of this Bank, five are 
chosen by the Government, and twenty by the citizen stock- 
holders. From all voice in these elections the foreign stock- 
holders are excluded by the charter. In proportion, therefore, 
as the stock is transferred to foreign holders, the extent of suf- 
frage in the choice of directors is curtailed. Already is almost 
a third of the stock in foreign hands, and not represented in 
elections. It is constantly passing out of the country, and 
this act will accelerate its departure. The entire control of 
the institution would necessarily fall into the hands of a few 
citizen stockholders, and the ease with which the object would 
be accomplished, would be a temptation to designing men, to 
secure that control in their own hands, by monopolizing the re- 
maining stock. There is danger that a president and directors 
would then be able to elect themselves from year to year, and 
without responsibility or control, manage the whole concerns 



VETO OF THE BANK EILL. 181 

of the Bank during the existence of the charter. It is easy 
to conceive that great evils to our country and its institutions 
might flow from such a concentration of power in the hands 
of a few men, irresponsible to the people. 

Is there no danger to our liberty and independence in a 
Bank, that, in its nature, has so little to bind it to our country ? 
The President of the Bank has told us that most of the State 
Banks exist by its forbearance. Should its influence become 
concentrated, as it may under the operation of such an act as 
this, in the hands of a self-elected Directory, whose interests 
are identified with those of the foreign stockholder, will there 
not be cause to tremble for the purity of our elections in peace, 
and for the independence of our country in war ? Their pow- 
er would be great whenever they might choose to exert it; 
but if this monopoly were regularly renewed every fifteen or 
twenty years, on terms proposed by them.selves, they might 
seldom in peace put forth their strength to influence elections 
or control the affairs of the nation; but if any private citizen 
or public functionary should interpose to curtail its powers, or 
prevent a renewal of its privileges, it cannot be doubted that 
he would be made to feel its influence. 

Should the stock of the Bank principally pass into the hands 
of the subjects of a foreign country, and we should unfortu- 
nately become involved in a war with that country, what would 
be our condition ? Of the course which would be pursued by 
a Bank almost wholly owned by the subjects of a foreign pow- 
er, and managed by those whose interests, if not aflfections, 
would run in the same direction, there can be no doubt. All 
its operations within would be in aid of the hostile fleets and 
armies without: controlling our currency, receiving our public 
moneys, and holding thousands of our citizens in dependence, 
it v.'ould be more formidable and dangerous than the naval and 
military power of the enemy. 

If we must have a Bank with private stockholders, every 
consideration of sound policy, and every impulse of American 
feeling, admonishes that it should be purely American. Its 
stockholders should be composed exclusively of our own citi- 
zens, who at least ought to be friendly to our Government, 
and willing to support it in times of difficulty and danger. Sq. 



182 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

abundant is domestic capital, that competition in subscribing 
for the stock of local banks has recently led alrnost to riots. 
To a Bank exclusively of American stockholders, possessing 
the powers and privileges granted by this act, subscriptions 
for two hundred millions of dollars could be readily obtained. 
Instead of sending abroad the stock of the bank, in which the 
Government must deposit its funds, and on which it must rely 
to sustain its credit in times of emergency, it would rather 
seem to be expedient to prohibit its sale to aliens, under penal- 
ty of absolute forfeiture. 

It is maintained by the advocates of the Bank, that its constitu- 
tionality in all its features, ought to be considered as settled by 
precedent, and by the decision of the Supreme Court. To this 
conclusion I cannot assent. Mere precedent is a dangerous 
source of authority, and should not be regarded as deciding ques- 
tions of constitutional povv'er, except where the acquiescence of 
the people and the States can be considered as w^ell settled. 
So far from this being the case on this subject, an argument 
against the Bank might be based on precedent. One Congress, 
in 179], decided in favor of a Bank; another, in 1811, deci- 
ded against it. One Congress, in 1815, decided against a 
Bank; another in 1816, decided in its favor. Prior to the 
present Congress, therefore, the precedents drawn from that 
source were equal. If we resort to the States, the expressions 
of legislative, judicial, and executive opinions against the 
Bank have been probably, to those in its favor, as four to one. 
There is nothing in precedent therefore, which, if its authority 
were admitted, ought to weigh in favor of the act before me. 
If the opinion of the Supreme Court covered the whole 
ground of this act, it ought not to control the co-ordinate au- 
thorities of this Government. The Congress, the Executive, 
and the Court, must each for itself be guided by its own opin- 
ion of the Constitution. Each public officer who takes an 
oath to support the Constitution, swears that he will support 
it as he understands it, and not as it is understood by others. 
It is as much the duty of the House of Representatives, of 
the Senate, and of the President, to decide upon the constitu- 
tionality of any bill or resolution which may be presented to 
them for passage or approval, as it is of the Supreme Judges, 



VETO OF THE BANK BILL. 183 

^vhen it may be brought before them for judicial decision. 
The opinion of the Judges has no more authority over Con- 
gress than the opinion of Congress has over the Judges ; and 
on that point the President is independent of both. The au- 
thority of the Supreme Court must not, therefore, be permit- 
ted to control the Congress or the Executive, when acting in 
their legislative capacities, but to have only such influence as 
the force of their reasoning may deserve. 

But, in the case relied upon, the Supreme Court have not 
decided that all the features of this corporation are compatible 
with the constitution. It is true that the Court have said that 
the law incorporating the bank is a constitutional exercise of 
power by Congress. But taking into view the whole opinion 
of the Court, and the reasoning by which they have come to 
that conclusion, I understand them to have decided that, inas- 
much as a Bank is an appropriate means for carrying into ef- 
fect the enumerated powers of the General Government, there- 
fore the law incorporating it is in accordance with that pro- 
vision of the constitution which declares that Congress shall 
have power "to make all laws which shall be necessary and 
proper for carrying those powers into execution." Having 
satisfied themselves that the word " necessary," in the consti- 
tution, means <« needful," "requisite," "essential," " conducive 
to,'' and that " a Bank" is a convenient, a useful, and essential 
instrument in the prosecution of the Government's " fiscal op- 
erations," they conclude that to "use one must be within the 
discretion of Congress ;" and that " the act to incorporate the 
Bank of the United States, is a law made in pursuance of the 
Constitution." " But," say they, " where the law is not pro- 
hibited, and is really calculated to effect any of the objects 
entrusted to the Government, to undertake here to inquire into 
the degree of its necessity, would be to pass the line v.hich 
circumscribes the judicial department, and to tread on legisla- 
tive ground." 

The principle here affirmed is, that " the degree of its ne- 
cessity," involving all the details of a Banking institution, is 
a question exclusively for legislative consideration. A Bank 
is constitutional; but it is the province of the Legislature to 
determine whether this or that particular povrer, privilege, or 



184 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

exemption, is "necessary and proper" to enable the Bank to- 
discharge its duties to the Government, and from their deci- 
sion there is no appeal to the courts of justice. Under the 
decision of the Supreme Court, therefore, it is the exclusive 
province of Congress and the President to decide, whether- 
the particular features of this act are " necessary and proper," 
in order to enable the Bank to perform conveniently and effi- 
ciently the public duties assigned to it as a fiscal agent, and. 
therefore constitutional ; or unnecessary and iminoper, and 
therefore unconstitutional. 

-Without commenting on the general principle affirmed by 
the Supreme Court, let us examine the details of this act, in 
accordance with the rule of legislative action which they have 
laid down. It vrill be found that many of the pov/ers and 
privileges conferred on it cannot be supposed necessary for 
the purpose for which it is proposed to be created, and are- 
not therefore means necessary to attain the end in view, and 
consequently not justified by the Constitution. 

The original act of incorporation, section twenty-one, enacts 
" that no other Bank shall be established by any future law of 
the United States, during the continuance of the corporation 
hereby created, for which the faith of the United States is 
hereby pledged : Provided, Congress may renew existing 
charters for Banks within the District of Columbia, not in- 
creasing the capital thereof, and may also establish any other 
Bank or Banks in said District, with capitals not exceeding in. 
the whole six millions of dollars, if they shall deem it expe- 
dient." This provision is continued in force, by the act be- 
fore me, fifteen years from the 3d of March, 1836. 

If Congress possessed the power to establish one Bank, 
they had power to establish more than one, if, in their opin- 
ion, two or more Banks had been " necessary" to facilitate 
the execution of the powers delegated to them by the Consti- 
tution. If they possessed the power to establish a second 
Bank, it was a power derived from the Constitution, to be exer- 
cised from time to time, and at any time when the interests of 
the country or the emergencies of the government might makC' 
it expedient. It was possessed by one Congress as well as 
another, and by all Congresses alike, and alike at every ses- 



VETO OF THE BANK BILL. 185 

sion. But the Congress of 1816 have taken it away from 
their successors for twenty years, and the Congress of 1832 
proposes to abolish it for fifteen years more. It cannot be 
" necessary" or " proper" for Congress to barter away, or 
divest themselves of any of the powers vested in them by 
the Constitution, to be exercised for the public good. It is 
not " necessary" to the efficiency of the Bank, nor is it 
" proper" in relation to themselves and their successors. They 
may properly use the discretion vested in them, but they may 
not limit the discretion of their successors. This restriction 
on themselves, and grant of a monopoly to the Bank, is there- 
fore unconstitutional. 

In another point of view, this provision is a palpable at- 
tempt to amend the Constitution by an act of legislation. 
The Constitution declares that "the Congress shall have pow- 
er" to exercise exclusive legislation, in all cases whatsoever, 
over the District of Columbia. Its constitutional power, there- 
fore, to establish banks in the District of Columbia, and increase 
their capital at will, is unlimited and uncontrollable by any 
other power than that which gave authority to the Constitu- 
tion, Yet this act declares that Congress shall not increase 
the capital of existing banks, nor create other banks with 
capitals exceeding in the whole six millions of dollars. The 
Constitution declares that Congress shall have power to exer- 
cise exclusive legislation over this District, " in all cases what- 
soever ;"" and this act declares they sliall not. Which is the 
supreme law of the land .' This provision cannot be " neces- 
sary " ox "proper," or constitutional, unless the absurdity be 
admitted, that whenever it be " necessary and proper," in the 
opinion of Congress, they have a right to barter away one 
portion of the powers vested in them by the Constitution, a& 
a means of executing the rest. 

On two subjects only does the Constitution recognize in 
Congress the power to grant exclusive privileges or monopo- 
lies. It declares that " Congress shall have power to pro- 
mote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing, for 
limited times, to authors and inventors, the exclusive right to 
their respective writings and discoA^eries." Out of this express 
delegation of power, have grown our laws of patents and 



b 



186 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

copy-rights. As the Constitution expressly delegates to Con- 
gress the power to grant exclusive privileges in these cases, 
as the means of executing the substantive power «« to promote 
the progress of science and useful arts," it is consistent with 
the fair rules of construction to conclude, that such a power 
was not intended to be granted .as a means of accomplishing 
any other end. On every other subject which comes within 
the scope of congressional power, there is an ever-living dis- 
cretion in the use of proper means, which cannot be restricted 
or abolished without an amendment of the Constitution. Every 
act of Congress, therefore, M^hich attempts, by grants of mo- 
nopolies, or sale of exclusive privileges for a limited time, or 
a time without limit, to restrict or extinguish its ovrn discretion 
in the choice of means to execute its delegated powers, is 
equivalent to a legislative amendment of the Constitution, and 
palpably unconstitutional. 

This act authorizes and encourages transfers of its stock to 
foreigners, and grants them an exemption from all State and 
national taxation. So far from being " necessary and proper' 
that the Bank should possess this power, to make it a safe 
and efficient agent of the Government in its fiscal operations, 
it is calculated to convert the Bank of the United States into a 
foreign bank, to impoverish our people in time of peace, to 
disseminate a foreign influence through every section of the 
Republic, and in war to endanger our independence. 

The several States reserved the power, at the formation of 
the Constitution, to regulate and control titles and transfers of 
real property ; and most, if not all of them, have laws dis- 
qualifying aliens from acquiring or holding lands within their 
limits. But this act, in disregard of the undoubted right of 
the States to prescribe such disqualifications, gives to aliens, 
stockholders in this Bank, an interest and title, as members of 
the corporation, to all the real property it may acquire within 
any of the States of this Union. This privilege granted to 
aliens is not " necessary" to enable the Bank to perform its 
public duties, nor in any sense "proper," because it is vitally 
subversive of the rights of the States. 

The Government of the United States have no constitution- 
al power to purchase lands within the States, except " for the 



VETO OF THE BANK BILL. 187 

erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock yards, and other 
needful buildings," and even for these objects, only " by the 
consent of the Legislature of the State in which the same shall 
be." By making themselves stockholders in the Bank, and 
granting to the corporation the power to purchase lands for 
other purposes, they assume a power not granted in the Con- 
stitution, and grant to others what they do not themselves 
possess. It is not necessary to the receiving, safe-keeping, or 
transmission of the funds of Government, that the Bank should 
possess this power, and it is not proper that Congress should 
thus enlarge the powers delegated to them in the Constitution. 

The old Bank of the United States possessed a capital of 
only eleven millions of dollars, which was found fully suffi- 
cient to enable it, with despatch and safety, to perform all the 
functions required of it by the Government, The capital of 
the present Bank is thirty-five millions of dollars, at least 
twenty-four more than experience has proved to be necessary 
to enaUe a bank to perform its public functions. The public 
debt which existed during the period of the old Bank, and on 
the establishment of the new, has been nearly paid off, and 
our revenue will soon be reduced. This increase of capital 
is, therefore, not for public, but for private purposes. 

The Government is the only " proper" judge where its agents 
should reside and keep their offices, because it best knows 
where their presence will be " necessary." It cannot, there- 
fore, be "necessary" or "proper" to authorize the Bank to 
locate branches where it pleases, to perform the public ser- 
vice, without consulting the Government, and contrary to its 
will. The principle laid down by the Supreme Court, con- 
cedes that Congress cannot establish a Bank for the purpose 
of private speculation and gain, but only as a means of exe- 
cuting the delegated powers of the General Government. 
By the same principle, a Branch Bank cannot constitutionally 
be established for other than public purposes. The power 
"which this act gives to establish two branches in any State, 
without the injunction or request of the Government, and for 
other than public purposes, is not " necessary" to the due exe- 
cution of the powers delegated to Congress. 

The bonus which is exacted from the Bank, is a confession, 



138 LIFE OF ANDREV7 JACKSON. 

upon the face of the act, that the powers granted by it are 
greater than are " necessary" to its character as a fiscal agent. 
The Government does not tax its officers and agents for the 
privileges of serving it. The bonus of a milhon and a half, 
required by the original charter, and that of three millions pro- 
posed by this act, are not exacted for the privilege of giving 
" the necessary facilities for transferring the public funds from 
place to place, within the United States or the territories there- 
of, and for distributing the same in payment of the public 
creditors, without charging commission, or claiming allow- 
ance on account of the difference of exchange," as required 
by the act of incorporation, but for something more beneficial 
to the stockholders. The original act declares that it (the bo- 
nus) is granted " in consideration of the exclusive privileges 
and benefits conferred by this act upon said Bank ;" and the 
act before me declares it to be " in consideration of the exclu- 
sive benefits and privileges continued by this act to the said 
corporation for fifteen years aforesaid." It is, therefore, for 
" exclusive privileges and benefits," conferred for their own 
use and emolument, and not for the advantage of the Govern- 
ment, that a bonus is exacted. These surplus powers, for 
which the Bank is required to pay, cannot be " necessary," to 
make it the fiscal agent of the treasury. If they were, the ex- 
action of a bonus for them would not be " proper." 

It is maintained by some, that the Bank is a means of execu- 
ting the constitutional power "to coin money, and regulate the 
value thereof." Congress have established a mint to coin 
money, and passed laws to regulate the value thereof. The 
money so coined, with its value so regulated, and such for- 
eign coins as Congress may adopt, are the only currency known 
to the Constitution. But if they have other power to regu- 
late the currency, it was conferred to be exercised by them- 
selves, and not to be transferred to a corporation. If the Bank 
be established for that purpose, with a charter unalterable 
without its consent. Congress have parted with their power 
for a term of years, during which the Constitution is a dead 
letter. It is neither necessary nor proper to transfer its legis- 
lative power to such a Bank, and therefore unconstitutional. 

By its silence, considered in connection with the decision of 



VETO OF THE BANK BILL. 189 

the Supreme Court, in the case of JMcCulloch against the State 
of Maryland, this act takes from the States the power to tax 
a portion of the banking business carried on within their hm- 
its, in subversion of one of the strongest barriers which secu- 
red them against federal encroachments. Banking, like farm- 
ing, manufacturing, or any other occupation or profession, is 
a business, the right to follow which is not originally derived 
from the laws. Every citizen, and every company of citizens, 
in all our States, possessed the right until the State Legislatures 
deemed it good policy to prohibit private banking by law. If 
the prohibitory State laws were now repealed, every citizen 
would again possess the right. The State banks are a quali- 
fied restoration of the right which has been taken away by 
the laws against banking, guarded by such provisions and 
limitations as, in the opinion of the State Legislatures, the 
public interest requires. These corporations, unless there be 
an exemption in their charter, are, like private bankers and 
banking companies, subject to State taxation. The man- 
ner in which these taxes shall be laid, depends wholly on le- 
gislative discretion. It may be upon the bank, upon the stock, 
upon the profits, or in any other mode which the sovereign 
power shall will. 

Upon the formation of the Constitution, the States guarded 
their taxing power with peculiar jealousy. They surrendered 
it only as it regards imports and exports. In relation to every 
other object within their jurisdiction, whether persons, pro- 
perty, business or professions, it was secured in as ample a 
manner as it was before possessed. All persons, though Uni- 
ted States otficers, are liable to a poll tax by the States with- 
in which they reside ; the lands of the United States are liable 
to the usual land tax, except in the new States, from whom 
agreements that they will not tax unsold lands, are exacted 
when they are admitted into the Union : horses, wagons, any 
beasts, or vehicles, tools, or property, belonging to private citi- 
zens, though employed in the service of the United States, 
are subject to State taxation. Every private business, wheth- 
er carried on by an officer of the General Government or not, 
whether it be mixed with public concerns or not, even if it be 



L 



190 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

carried on by the Government of the United States itself, sep- 
arately or in partnership, falls within the scope of the taxing 
power of the State. Nothing comes more fully within it than 
banks and the business of banking, by whomsoever instituted 
and carried on. Over this whole subject-matter, it is just as ab- 
Folute, unlimited, and uncontrollable, as if the Constitution had 
never been adopted, because, in the formation of that instru- 
ment it was reserved without qualification. 

The principle is conceded, that the States cannot rightfully 
tax the operations of the General Government. They cannot 
tax the money of the Government deposited in the State banks, 
nor the agency of those banks in remitting it; but will any 
man maintain that their mere selection to perform this pub- 
lic service for the General Government, would exempt the 
State banks, and their ordinary business, from State taxation ? 
Had the United States, instead of establising a Bank at Phil- 
adelphia, employed a private banker to keep and transmit 
their funds, would it have deprived Pennsylvania of the right 
to tax his bank and his usual banking operations.' It will 
not be pretended. Upon what principle, then, are the banking 
establishments of the Bank of the United States, and their usual 
banking operations, to be exempted from taxation .' It is not their 
public agency, or the deposits of the Government, which the 
States claim a right to tax, but their banks and their banking 
powers, instituted and exercised within State jurisdiction for 
their private emolument — those powers and privileges for which 
they pay a bonus, and which the States tax in their own 
banks. The exercise of these powers within a State, no mat- 
ter by whom or under what authority, whether by private cit- 
izens in their original right, by corporate bodies created by the 
States, by foreigners, or the agents of foreign Governments 
located within their limits, forms a legitimate object of State 
taxation. From this, and like sources, from the persons, pro- 
perty, and business, that are found residing, located, or carried 
on, under their jurisdiction, must the States, since the surren- 
der of their right to raise a revenue from imports and exports, 
draw all the money necessary for the support of their Govern- 
ments, and the maintenance of their independence. There is 



VETO OF THE BANK BILL. 191 

110 more appropriate subject of taxation than banks, banking, 
aiid bank stocks, and none to which the States ought more 
pertinaciously to cling. 

It cannot be necessary to the character of the Bank, as a 
fiscal agent of the Government, that its private business should 
be exempted from that taxation to which all the State 
banks are liable; nor can I conceive it "proper" that 
the substantive and most essential powers reserved by the 
States shall be thus ' attacked and annihilated as a means of 
executing the powers delegated to the General Government. 
It may be safely assumed that none of those sages who had 
an agency in forming or adopting our Constitution, ever ima- 
gined that any portion of the taxing power of the States, not 
prohibited by them, nor delegated to Congress, was to be swept 
aw^ay and annihilated, as a means of executing certain pow- 
ers delegated to Congress. 

If our power over means is so absolute, that the Supreme 
Court will not call in question the constitutionality of an act 
of Congress, the subject of w^hich is " not prohibited, and is 
really calculated to effect any of the objects entrusted to the 
Government," although, as in the case before me, it takes 
•away powers expressly granted to Congress, and rights scru- 
pulously reserved to the States, it becomes us to proceed in 
our legislation with the utmost caution. Though not directly, 
our own powers, and the rights of the States, may be indi- 
rectly legislated away in the use of means to execute sub- 
stantive powers. We may not enact that Congress shall not 
have the power of exclusive legislation over the District of 
Columbia ; but we may pledge the faith of the United States 
that, as a means of executing other powers, it shall not be 
exercised for twenty years, or forever ! We may not pass an 
act prohibiting the States to tax the banking business carried 
on within their limits ; but we may, as a means of executing 
our powers over other objects, place that business in the 
hands of our agents, and then declare it exempt from State 
taxation in their hands ! Thus may our own powers, and 
the rights of the States, which we cannot directly curtail or 
invade, be frittered av.^ay and extinguished in the use of means 
employed by us to execute other powers. That a Bank of 



192 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

the United States, competent to all duties which may be 
required by the Government, might be so organized as not to 
infringe on our own delegated powers, or the reserved rights 
of the States, I do not entertain a doubt. Had the Executive 
been called upon to furnish the project of such an institution, 
the duty would have been cheerfully performed In the ab- 
sence of such a call, it was obviously proper that he should 
confine himself to pointing out those prominent features in the 
act presented, which, in his opinion, make it incompatible 
with the Constitution, and sound policy. A general discus- 
sion will now take place, eliciting new light, and settling im- 
portant principles ; and a new Congress, elected in the midst 
of such discussion, and furnishing an equal representation of 
the people, according to the last census, will bear to the Capi- 
tol the verdict of public opinion, and I doubt not bring this 
important question to a satisfactory result. 

Under such circumstances, the Bank comes forward and asks 
a renewal of its charter for a term of fifteen years, upon con- 
ditions w^hich not only operate as a gratuity to the stockhold- 
ers of many millions of dollars, but will sanction any abuses, 
and legalize any encroachments. 

Suspicions are entertained, and charges are made, of gross 
abuse and violation of its charter. An investigation, unwil- 
lingly conceded, and so restricted in time as necessarily to 
make it incomplete and unsatisfactory, discloses enough to 
excite suspicion and alarm. In the practices of the principal 
Bank, partially unveiled in the absence of important witnesses, 
and in numerous charges confidently made, and as yet wholly 
uninvestigated, there was enough to induce a majority of the 
Committee of Investigation, a committee which was selected 
from the most able and honorable members of the House of 
Representatives, to recommend a suspension of further action 
upon the bill, and a prosecution of the inquiry. As the char- 
ter had yet four years to run, and as a renewal now Vv^as not 
necessary to the successful prosecution of its business, it was 
to have been expected that the Bank itself, conscious of its 
purity, and proud of its character, would have withdrawn its 
application for the present, and demanded the severest scrutiny 
into all its transactions. In their declining to do so, there 



VETO OF THE BANK BILL. 193 

-eems to he an additional reason why the functionaries of the 
Government should proceed with less haste, and more caution, 
in the renewal of their monopoly. 

The Bank is professedly established as an agent of tlie 
executive branches of the Government, and its constitution- 
ality is maintained on that ground. Neither upon the pro- 
priety of present action, nor upon the provisions of this act, was 
the Executive consulted. It has had no opportunity to say, 
that it neither needs nor wants an agent clothed with such 
powers, and favored by such exemptions. There is nothing 
in its legitimate functions which makes it necessary or proper. 
Whatever interest or influence, whether public or private, has 
given birth to this act, it cannot be found either in the wishes 
or necessities of the Executive Department, by which present 
action is deemed premature, and the powers conferred upon its 
agent not only unnecessary, but dangerous to the Government 
and country. ^ 

It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often 
bend the acts of Government to their selfish purposes. Dis- 
tinctions in society will always exist under every just go- 
vernment. Equality of talents, of education, or of wealth, 
cannot be produced by human institutions. In the full enjoy- 
ment of the gifts of Heaven, and the fruits of superior indus- 
try, economy, and virtue, every man is equally entitled to pro- 
tection by law. But when the laws undertake to add to these 
natural and just advantages artificial distinctions — to grant 
titles, gratuities, and exclusive privileges — to make the rich 
richer, and the potent more powerful — the humble members of 
society, the farmers, mechanics and laborers, who have nei- 
ther the time nor the means of securing the like favors to 
themselves, have a right to complain of the injustice of their 
Government. There are no necessary evils in Government. 
Its evils exist only in its abuses. If it would confine itself to 
equal protection, and, as Heaven does its rains, shower its fa- 
vors alike on the high and the low, the rich and the poor, it 
would be an unqualified blessing.X In the act before me there 
seems to be a wide and unnecessary departure from these just 
principles. 

Nor is our government to be maintained, or our Union pre- 
13 



194 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

served, by invasions of the rights and powers of the several' 
States. In thus attempting to make our General Governm.ent 
strong, we make it weak. Its true strength consists in leav- 
ing individuals and States, as much as possible, to themselves ; 
in making itself felt, not in its pov/er, but in its beneficence — 
not in its control, but, in its protection — not in binding the 
States more closely to the centre, but leaving each to move,- 
unobstructed, in its proper ©rbit. 

Experience should teach us wisdom. IMost of the difficul- 
ties our Government now encounters, and most of the dangers 
which impend over our Union, have sprung from an abandon- 
ment of the legitimate objects of Government by our national 
legislation, and the adoption of such principles as are embo- 
died in this act. Many of our rich men have not been con- 
tent with equal protection and equal benefits, but have be- 
sought us to make them richer by act of Congress. By at- 
tempting to gratify their desires, we have, in the results of our 
legislation, arrayed section against section, interest against in- 
terest, and man against man, in a fearful commotion, which 
threatens to shake the foundations of our Union. It is time 
to pause in our career, to reviev/ our principles, and, if pos- 
sible, revive that devoted spirit of patriotism, and spirit of 
compromise, which distinguished the sages of the revolution 
and the fathers of our Union. If we cannot, at once, in jus- 
tice to interests vested under improvident legislation, make our 
Government what it ought to be, we can, at least, take a stand 
against all new grants of monopolies and exclusive privileges, 
against any prostitution of our Government to tlie advancement 
of the few at the expense of the many, and in favor of compro- 
mise and gradual reform in our code of laws and system of po- 
litical economy. ' 

I have now done my duty to my country. If sustained by 
my fellow-citizens, I shall be grateful and happy : if not, I 
shall find in the motives which impel me, ample grounds for 
contentment and peace. In the difficulties which surround us, 
and the dangers which threaten our institutions, there is cause 
for neither dismay or alarm. For relief and deliverance, let us 
firmly rely on that kind Providence which, I am sure, watch- 
es with pecuUar care over the destinies of our republic, and 



HIS PROTEST TO THE SENATE 195 

on the intelligence and wisdom of our countrymen. Through 
His abundant goodness and their patriotic devotion, our liberty 
and our Union will be preserved. 

ANDREW JACKSON.. 
Washington, July 10, 1832. 



PROTEST TO THE SENATE'. 

When the Whig majority in the United States Senate at- 
tempted to pass judgment on General Jackson, for his action 
in removing the Deposits from the United States Bank, and 
to record a sentence against him, Vv'hich, if the Senate had 
been acting in the only capacity it could constitutionally act — 
as the Court for the trial of Impeachments brought by the 
House of Representatives — must have resulted in his remo- 
val from office, the President rebuked the usurpation and de- 
fended himself against the accusations of the Sena,te in a Pro- 
test, the most eloquent of all the able State papers of his ad- 
ministration. In the following extract, he vindicates the pU' 
rity of his motives, and gives his idea of a true republic, such 
" as he understood it," and such as the American people un- 
derstand and hope to realize it : 

" The resolution of the Senate contains an imputation on 
my private as well as upon my public character ; and as it 
must stand forever on their journals, I cannot close tliis sub- 
stitute for that defense which I have not been allowed to pre- 
sent in the ordinary form, without remarking, that I have lived 
in vain, if it be necessary to enter into a formal vindication of 
my character and purposes from such an imputation. In vain 
do I bear upon my person, enduring memorials of that contest in 
which American liberty was purchased — in vain have I since pe- 
riled property, fame and life, in defense of the rights and priv- 
ileges so dearly bought — in vain am I now, without a personal 
aspiration, or the hope of individual advantage, encountering 
responsibilities and dangers, from which, by mere inactivity 
in relation to a single point, I might have been exempt — if any 



196 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

serious doiihts can be entertained as to the purity of my pur- 
poses and motives. If I had been ambitious, I should have 
sought an alliance with that powerful institution, which even 
now aspires to no divided empire. If I had been venal, I 
should have sold myself to its designs — had I preferred person- 
al comfort and official ease to the performance of my arduous 
duty, I should have ceased to molest it. In the history of con- 
querors and usurpers, never, in the fire of youth, nor in the 
vigor of manhood, could I find an attraction to lure me from 
the path of duty : and now, I shall scarcely find an induce- 
ment to commence their career of ambition, when gray hairs 
and a decaying frame, instead of inviting to toil and battle, 
call me to the contemplation of other worlds, where conquer- 
ors cease to be honored, and usurpers expiate their crimes. 

" The only ambition I can feel is to acquit myself to Him to 
whom I must soon render an account of my stewardship ; to 
serve my fellow-men, and live respected and honored in the 
-history of my country. No; the ambition which leads me on, 
is an anxious desire and a fixed determinaton, to return to the 
people, unimpaired, the sacred trust they have confided to my 
charge — to heal the wounds of the Constitution and preserve it 
from further violation; to persuade my countrymen, so far as 
I may, that it is not in a splendid Government, supported by "^ 
powerful monopolies and aristocratic establishments, that they 
will find happiness, or their liberties protection ; but in a plain 
system, void of pomp — protecting all, and granting favors to 
none — dispensing its blessings like the dews of Heaven, un- 
seen and unfelt, save in the freshness and beauty they contrib-..^/ 
ute to produce. It is such a Government that the genius of 
our People requires — such an one only under which our States 
may remain for ages to come, united, prosperous and free. If 
the Almighty Being who has hitherto sustained and protected 
me, will but vouchsafe to make my feeble powers instrument- 
al to such a result, I shall anticipate with pleasure the place to 
be assigned me in the history of my country, and die contented 
with the belief, that I have contributed, in some small degree, 
to increase the value and prolong the duration of American 
Liberty." 



PROCLA-MATIOX TO THE NULLIFIERS. 197 



PRESIDENT JACKSON'S PROCLAMATION TO THE NULLIFIERS 
OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

Whereas, a Convention assembled in the State of South 
Carolina, having passed an ordinance by which they declare, 
" That the several acts and parts of acts of the Congress of 
the United States, purporting to be laws for the imposing of 
duties and imposts on the importation of foreign commodities, 
and now having actual operation and effect within the United 
States, and more especially," two acts for the same purpose, 
passed on the 29th of May, 1828, and on the 14th of July, 
1832, "are unauthorized by the Constitution of the United 
States, and violate the true meaning and intent thereof, and 
are null and void, and no law," nor binding on the citizens of 
that State or its officers: and by the said ordinance, it is fur- 
ther declared to be unlawful for any of the constituted authori- 
ties of the State or of the United States, to enforce the payment 
of the duties imposed by the said acts within the same State, 
and that it is the duty of the Legislature to pass such laws as 
may be necessary to give full effect to the said ordinance : 

And whereas, by the said ordinance, it is further ordained, 
that in no case of law or equity, decided in the courts of said 
State, wherein shall be drawn in question the validity of the 
said ordinance, or of the acts of the Legislature that may be 
passed to give it effect, or of the said laws of the LTnited States, 
no appeal shall be allowed to the Supreme Court of the United 
States, nor shall any copy of the record be permitted or allov/ed 
for that purpose, and that any person attempting to take such 
appeal shall be punished as for a contempt of court : 

And, finally, the said ordinance declares, that the people of 
South Carolina will maintain the said ordinance at every 
hazard ; and that they will consider the passage of any act of 
Congress abolishing or closing the ports of the said State, or 
otherwise obstructing the free ingress or egress of vessels to 
and from the said ports, or any other act of the federal gov- 
ernment to coerce the State, shut up her ports, destroy or 
harass her commerce, or to enforce the said act otherwise 
than through the civil tribunals of the country, as inconsistent 
with the longer continuance of South Carolina in the Union; 



198 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

and that the people of the said State will thenceforth hold 
themselves absolved from all further obligation to maintain or 
preserve their political connection with the people of the other 
states, and will forthwith proceed to organize a separate gov- 
ernment, and do all other acts and things which sovereign and 
independent states may of right do : 

And whereas, the said ordinance prescribes to the people 
of South Carolina a course of conduct, in direct violation of 
their duty as citizens of the United States, contrary to the laws 
of their country, subversive of its Constitution, and having for 
its object the destruction of the Union — that Union, which, 
coeval with our political existence, led our fathers, without 
any other ties to unite them than those of patriotism and a 
common cause, through a sanguinary struggle to a glorious in- 
dependence — that sacred Union, hitherto inviolate, which, per- 
fected by our happy Constitution, has brought us by the favor of 
Heaven to a state of prosperity at home, and high consideration 
abroad, rarely, if ever, equalled in the history of nations. To 
preserve this bond of our political existence from destruction, 
to maintain inviolate this state of national honor and prosperi- 
ty, and to justify the confidence my fellow-citizens have re- 
posed in me, I, Andrew Jackson, President of the United 
States, have thought proper to issue this my Proclamation, 
stating my views of the Constitution and laws applicable to 
the measures adopted by the Convention of South Carolina, 
and to the reasons they have put forth to sustain them, declar- 
ing the course which duty will require me to pursue, and, ap- 
pealing to the understanding and patriotism of the people, 
warn them of the consequences that must inevitably result from 
an observance of the dictates of the Convention. 

Strict duty would require of me nothing more than the exer- 
cise of those powers with which I am now, or may hereafter 
be invested, for preserving the peace of the Union, and for the 
execution of the laws. But the imposing aspect which oppo- 
sition has assumed in this case, by clothing itself with state 
authority, and the deep interest which the people of the United 
States must all feel in preventing a resort to stronger measures, 
while there is a hope that any thing will be yielded to reason- 
ing and remonstrance, perhaps demand, and will certainly 



PROCLAMATION TO THE NULLIFIERS. 199 

justify a full exposition to South Carolina and the nation, of 
the views I entertain of this imi)ortant question, as well as a 
distinct enunciation of the course w^hich my sense of duty will 
require me to pursue. 

The ordinance is founded, not on the indefeasible right of 
resisting acts which are plainly unconstitutional and too op- 
pressive to be endured ; but on the strange position that any 
one state may not only declare an act of Congress void, but 
prohibit its execution ; that they may do this consistently with 
the Constitution ; that the true construction of that instrument 
permits a State to retain its place in the Union, and yet be 
bound by no other of its laws than it may choose to consider con- 
stitutional. It is true, they add, that to justify this abrogation 
of a law, it must be palpably contrary to the Constitution ; but 
it is evident, that to give the right of resisting laws of that 
description, coupled with the uncontrolled right to decide what 
laws deserve that character, is to give the power of resisting 
all laws. For, as by the theory, there is no appeal, the reasons 
alleged by the State, good or bad, must prevail. If it should 
be said that public opinion is a sufficient check against the 
abuse of this power, it may be asked w^hy it is not deemed a 
sufficient guard against the passage of an unconstitutional act 
by Congress. There is, however, a re&iraint in this last case, 
which makes the assumed power of a state more indefensible, 
and which does not exist in the other. There are two appeals 
from an unconstitutional act passed by Congress — one to the 
judiciary, the other to the people and the states. There is no 
■ appeal from the State decision in theory, and the practical illus- 
tration shows that the courts are closed against an application 
to review it, both judge and jurors being sworn to decide in 
its favor. But reasoning on this subject is superfluous when 
our social compact in express terms declares, that the laws of 
the United States, its Constitution and treaties made under it, 
are the supreme law of the land — and for greater caution adds, 
" that the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any 
thing in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary 
notwithstanding." And it may be asserted without fear of 
refutation, that no federative government could exist without 
.a similar provision. Look for a moment to the consequences. 



200 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

If South Carolina considers the revenue laws unconstitutional^ 
and has a right to prevent their execution in the jiort of Charles- 
ton, there would be a clear constitutional objection to their 
collection in every other port, and no revenue could be col- 
lected any where ; for all imposts must be equal. It is no 
answer to repeat, that an unconstitutional law is no law, so 
long as the question of its legality is to be decided by the 
State itself; for every law" operating injuriously upon any 
local interest, will be perhaps thought, and certainly repre- 
sented, as unconstitutional, and, as has been shown, there is 
no appeal. 

If this doctrine had been established at an earlier day, the 
Union would have been dissolved in its infancy. The excise 
law in Pennsylvania, the embargo and non-intercourse law in 
the eastern states, the carriage tax in Virginia, were all deem- 
ed unconstitutional, and were more unequal in their operation 
than any of the laws now complained of ; but fortunately none- 
of those states discovered that they had the right now claimed 
by South Carolina. The war into which we were forced, to 
support the dignity of the nation and the rights of our citizens, 
might have ended in defeat and disgrace, instead of victory 
and honor, if the states who supposed it a ruinous and uncon- 
stitutional measure, had thought they possessed the right of 
nullifying the act by which it was declared, and denying sup- 
plies for its prosecution. Hardly and unequally as those 
m.easures bore upon several members of the union, to the leg- 
islatures of none did this efficient and peaceable remedy, as it 
is called, suggest itself. The discovery of this important fea- 
ture in our Constitution was reserved for the present day. To 
the statesmen of South Carolina belongs the invention, and up- 
on the citizens of that State will unfortunately fall the evil of 
reducing it to practice. 

If the doctrine of a state veto upon the laws of the Union 
carries with it internal evidence of its impracticable absurdity, 
our constitutional history will also afford abundant proof that 
it would have been repudiated with indignation, had it been 
proposed to form a feature in our government. 

In our colonial state, although dependent on another power^ 
we very early considered ourselves as connected by common 



PROCLAMATION TO THE NULLIFIERS. 201 

interest with each other. Leagues were formed for common 
defense, and before the Declaration of Independence we were 
known in our aggregate character as the united colonies 
OF AMERICA. That decisive and important step was taken 
jointly. We declared ourselves a nation by a joint, not by 
several acts, and when the terms of confederation were redu- 
ced to form, it v.'as in that of a solemn league of several states 
by w^hich they agreed, that they would collectively form one 
nation for the purpose of conducting some certain domestic 
concerns and all foreign relations. In the instrument forming 
that union is found an article which declares that, " every 
state shall abide by the determination of Congress on all ques- 
tions whichby that confederation should be submitted to them." 

Under the Confederation then, no state could legally annul 
a decision of the Congress, or refuse to submit to its execu- 
tion ; but no provision was made to enforce these decisions. 
Congress made requisitions, but they were not complied with. 
The government could not operate on individuals. They had 
no judiciary, no means of collecting revenue. 

But the defects of the Confederation need not be detailed. 
Under its operation we could scarcely be called a nation. We 
had neither prosperity at home, nor consideration abroad. This 
state of things could not be endured, and our present happy 
Constitution w^as formed, but formed in vain if this fatal doc- 
trine prevails. It was formed for important objects that are 
announced in the preamble, made in the name and by the au- 
thority of the people of the United States, whose delegates 
framed, and whose conventions approved it. The most im- 
portant among these objects, that which is placed first in rank, 
on which all others rest, is " to form a more perfect un- 
ion." Now, is it possible that even if there were no express 
provisions giving supremacy to the Constitution and Laws of 
the United States over those of the states — can it be conceived 
that an instrument made for the purpose of " forming a more 
perfect union," than that of the Confederation, could be so 
constructed by the assembled Avisdom of our country as to 
substitute for that confederation a form of government depen- 
dent for its existence on the local interest, the party spirit of, 
a state, or of a prevailing faction in a state ? Every man of 



202 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

plain, unsophisticated understanding, who hears the question, 
will give such an answer as will preserve the Union. ]Meta- 
physical subtlety, in pursuit of an impracticable theory, could 
alone have devised one that is calculated to destroy it. 

I consider then the power to annul a law of the United 
States, assumed by one state, incompatible with the exist- 
ence or the union, contradicted expressly by the let- 
ter OF the constitution, unauthorized by its spirit, in- 
consistent WITH EVERY PRINCIPLE ON WHICH IT WAS FOUND- 
ED, AND DESTRUCTIVE OF THE GREAT OBJECT FOR WHICH IT 
AVAS FORMED. 

After this general view of the leading principle, we must 
examine the particular application of it which is made in the 
ordinance. 

The preamble rests its justification on these grounds : It as- 
sumes as a fact, that the obnoxious laws, although they pur- 
port to be laws for raising revenue, were in reality intended 
for the protection of manufactures, which purpose it asserts to 
be unconstitutional; that the operation of these laws is une- 
qual; that the amount raised by them is greater than is re- 
quired by the wants of the government ; and finally, that the 
proceeds are to be applied to objects unauthorized by the con- 
stitution. These are only causes alleged to justify an open 
opposition to the laws of the country, and a threat of seceding 
from the Union, if any attempt should be made to enforce 
them The first virtually acknowledges, that the law in ques- 
tion was passed under a power expressly given by the Consti- 
tution, to lay and collect imposts: but its constitutionality is 
drawn in question from the motives of those who passed it. 
However apparent this purpose may be in the present case, 
nothing can be more dangerous than to admit the position that 
an unconstitutional purpose, entertained by the members who 
assent to a law enacted under a constitutional power, shall 
make that law void ; for how is that purpose to be ascertain- 
ed .? Who is to make the scrutiny ? How often may bad 
purposes be falsely imputed — in how many cases are they 
concealed by false professions — in how many is no declara- 
tion of motives made ? Admit this doctrine, and you give to 
the states an uncontrolled right to decide, and every law may 



PROCLAMATION TO THE NULLIFIERS. 203 

be annulled under this pretext. If, therefore, the absurd and 
dangerous doctrine should be admitted, that a state may annul 
an unconstitutional law, or one that it deems such, it will not 
apply to the present case. 

The next objection is, that the lo.ws In question operate un- 
equally. This objection may be made with truth, to every 
law that has been or can be passed. The wisdom of man 
never yet contrived a system of taxation that would operate 
with perfect equality. If the unequal operation of a law 
makes it unconstitutional, and if all laws of that description 
may be abrogated by any state for that cause, then indeed is 
the Federal Constitution unworthy of the slightest effort for its 
preservation. We have hitherto relied on it as the perpetual 
bond of our Union. We have received it as the work of the 
assembled wisdom of the nation. We have trusted to it as to the 
sheet anchor of our safety in the stormy times of conflict with a 
foreign or domestic foe. We have looked to it with sacred 
awe as the palladium of our liberties, and with all the solemnities 
of religion have pledged to each other our lives and fortunes here, 
and our hopes of happiness hereafter, in its defense and sup- 
port. Were we mistaken, my countrymen, in attaching this 
importance to the Constitution of our country? Was our de- 
votion paid to the wretched, inefficient, ckimsy contrivance 
which this new doctrine would make it ? Did we pledge our- 
selves to the support of an airy nothing, a bubble that must 
be blovvn away by the first breath of disaffection ? Was this 
self-destroying, visionary theory, the work of the profound 
statesmen, the exalted patriots, to whom the task of constitu- 
tional reform was entrusted .' Did the name of Washington 
sanction, did the states ratify such an anomaly in the history 
of fundamental legislation.' No. We were not mistaken. 
The letter of this great instrument is free from this radical 
fault : its language directly contradicts the imputation : its 
spirit — its evident intent, contradicts it. No ; we did not err ! 
Our Constitution does not contain the absurdity of giving pow- 
er to make laws, and another power to resist them. The sages 
whose memory will always be reverenced, have given us a 
practical, and, as they hoped, a permanent constitutional com- 
pact. The father of his country did not affix his revered name 



204 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

to SO palpable an absurdity. Nor did the states, when they 
severally ratified it, do so under the impression that a veto on 
the laws of the United States was reserved to them, or that 
they could exercise it by implication. Search the debates in 
all their conventions — examine the speeches of the most zeal- 
ous opposers of federal authority — look at the amendments 
that were proposed — they are all silent — not a syllable uttered, 
not a vote given, not a motion made to correct the explicit su- 
premacy given to the laws of the Union over those of the 
states — or to show that imphcation, as is now contended, 
could defeat it. No — we have not erred ! The Constitution 
is still the object of our reverence, the bond of our Union, our 
defense in danger, the source of our prosperity in peace. It 
shall descend, as we have received it, uncorrupted by sophis- 
tical construction, to posterity; and the sacrifices of local in- 
terest, of state prejudices, of personal animosities, that were 
made to bring it into existence, will again be patriotically of- 
fered for its support. 

The two remaining objections made by the ordinance to 
these laws are, that the sums intended to be raised by them 
are greater than required, and that the proceeds will be uncon- 
stitutionally employed. 

The Constitution has given expressly to Congress the right 
of raising revenue, and of deterraining the sum the public exi- 
gencies will require. The states have no control over the ex- 
ercise of this right, other than that which results from the 
power of changing the representatives who abuse it; and thus 
procure redress. Congress may undoubtedly abuse this dis- 
cretionary powef, but the same m.ay be said of others with 
which they are vested. Yet the discretion must exist some- 
where. The Constitution has given it to the representatives 
of all the people, checked by the representatives of the states 
and the executive power. The South Carolina construction 
gives it to the Legislature, or the Convention of a single State, 
were neither the people of the different states, nor the states 
in their separate capacity, nor the chief magistrate elected by 
the people, have any representation. Which is the most dis- 
creet disposition of the power .' I do not ask you, fellow-cit- 
izens, which is the constitutional disposition — that instrument 



PR0CLA3IATI0N TO THE NULLIFIERS. 205 

speaks a language not to be niisunderstoocl. But if you ^vere 
assembled in General Convention, which would you think the 
safest depository of this discretionary power in the last resort ? 
Would you add a clause giving it to each of the states, or 
would you sanction the wise provisions already made by your 
Constitution ? If this should be the result of your deliberations 
w^hen providing for the future, are you, can you be ready, to 
risk all that w^e hold dear, to establish, for a temporary and a 
local purpose, that which you must acknowledge to be de- 
structive and even absurd as a general provision ? Carry out 
the consequences of this right vested in the different states, 
and you must perceive that the crisis your conduct presents at 
this day would recur whenever any law of the United States 
displeased any of the states, and we should soon cease to be 
a nation. 

The ordinance, with the same knowledge of the future that 
characterizes a former objection, tells you that the proceeds of 
the tax will be unconstitutionally applied. If this could be 
ascertained with certainty, the objection would, with more pro- 
priety, be reserved for the laws so applying the proceeds, but 
surely cannot be urged against the law levying the duty. 

These are the allegations contained in the ordinance. Ex- 
amine them seriously, my fellow- citizens — judge for your- 
selves. I appeal to you to determine whether they are so 
clear, so convincing, as to leave no doubt of their correct- 
ness; and even if you should come to this conclusion, how 
far they justify the reckless, destructive course which you 
are directed to pursue. Review these objections, and the 
conclusions drawn from them once more. What are they ? 
Every law then for raising revenue according to the South 
Carolina ordinance, may be rightfully annulled, unless it be 
so framed as no law ever will or can be framed. Congress 
have a right to pass laws for raising revenue, and each State 
has a right to oppose their execution — two rights directly 
opposed to each other — and yet is this absurdity supposed 
to be contained in an instrument drawn for the express pur- 
pose of avoiding collisions between the states and the gen- 
eral government, by an assembly of the most enlightened 



206 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

statesmen and purest patriots ever embodied for a similar 
purpose. 

In vain have these sages declared that Congress slmll have 
power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises — 
in vain have they provided that they shall have povrer to 
pass laws which shall be necessary and proper to carry those 
powers into execution, that those laws and that Constitu- 
tion shall be the " supreme law of the land, and that the 
judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any thing in 
the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary, not- 
withstanding." In vain have the people of the several States 
solemnly sanctioned these provisions, made them their para- 
mount law, and individually sworn to support them when- 
ever they were called to execute any office. Vain provisions ! 
ineffectual restrictions ! vile profanation of oaths ! miserable 
jnockery of legislation ! if a bare majority of the voters in 
any one State may, on a real or supposed knowledge of the 
intent with which a law has been passed, declare themselves 
free from its operation — say here it gives too little, there too 
much, and operates unequally — here it suffers articles to be 
free that ought to be taxed — there it taxes those that ought 
to be free — in this case the proceeds are intended to be ap- 
plied to purposes which we do not approve — in that the 
amount raised is more than is wanted. Congress, it is true, are 
invested by the Constitution with the right of deciding these 
questions according to their sound discretion ; Congress i& 
composed of the representatives of all the States and of all the 
people of all the States ; but, we, part of the people of one 
State, to whom the Constitution has given no power on the 
subject, from whom it has expressly taken it away — we who 
have solemnly agreed that this Constitution shall be our law — 
WE, most of whom have sworn to support it — we now abro- 
gate this law and swear, and force others to swear, that it shall 
not be obeyed ! And we do this, not because Congress have 
no right to pass such laws, this we do not allege, but because 
they have passed them with improper views. They are uncon- 
stitutional from the motives of those who passed them, which 
we can never with certainty knovr — from their unequal opera- 



PROCLAMATION TO THE NULLIFIERS. 20T 

tion, although it is impossible from the nature of things that 
they should be equal — and from the disposition which we pre- 
sume may be made of their proceeds, although that disposition 
has not been declared. This is the plain meaning of the ordi- 
nance in relation to laws which it abrogates for alleged uncon- 
stitutionality. But it does not stop there. It repeals, in ex- 
press terms, an important part of the Constitution itself, and 
of laws passed to give it effect which have never been alleged 
to be unconstitutional. The Constitution declares that the ju- 
dicial powers of the United States, extend to cases arising un- 
der the laws of the United States, and that such laws, the Con- 
stitution and treaties, shall be paramount to the State Consti- 
tutions and laws. The judiciary act j)rescribes the mode by 
w^hich the case may be brought before a court of the United 
States, by appeal, when a State tribunal shall decide against 
this provision of the Constitution. The ordinance declares 
there shall be no appeal — makes the State law paramount to 
the Constitution and laws of the United States — forces judges 
and jurors to swear that they will disregard their provisions ; 
and even makes it penal in a suitor to attempt relief by appeal. 
It further declares that it shall not be lawful for the authorities' 
of the United States, or of that State to enforce the payment of 
duties imposed by the revenue laws within its limits. 

Here is a law of the United States not even pretended to be 
unconstitutional, repealed by the authority of a small majority 
of the voters of a single State. Here is a provision of the 
Constitution which is solemnly abrogated by the same au- 
thority. 

On such expositions and reasonings the ordinance grounds 
not only an assertion of the right to annul the laws of which 
it complains, but to enforce it by a threat of seceding from the 
Union if any attempt is made to execute them. 

This right to secede is deduced from the nature of the Con- 
stitution, which they say is a compact between sovereign 
States, who have preserved their whole sovereignty, and, there- 
fore, are subject to no superior ; that because they made the 
compact, they can break it, when, in their opinion, it has been 
departed from by the other States. Fallacious as this course 
of reasoning is, it enlists state pride, and finds advocates in 



208 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

the honest prejudices of those Avho have not studied the na- 
ture of our government sufficiently to see the radical error on 
which it rests. 

The people of the United States formed the Constitution, 
acting through the State Legislatures in making the compact, 
to meet and discuss its provisions, and acting in separate 
Conventions when they ratified those provisions ; but the terms 
used in its construction, show it to be a government in which 
the people of all the States are collectively represented. We 
are one people in the choice of a President and Vice-President. 
Here the States have no other agency than to direct the mode in 
which the votes shall be given. The candidates having the 
majority of all the votes are chosen. The electors of a majority 
of the States may have given their votes for one candidate, and 
yet another may be chosen. The people, then, and not the 
States, are represented in the executive branch. 

In the House of Representatives there is this difference, that 
the people of one State do not as in the case of President and 
Vice-President, all vote for the same officers. The people of 
all the States do not vote for all the members, each State elect- 
ing only its own Representatives. But this creates no material 
distinction. When chosen, they are all Representatives of the 
United States, not Representatives of the particular State from 
which they come. They are paid by the United States, not by 
the State ; nor are they accountable to it for any act done in the 
performance of their legislative functions ; and however they 
may, in practice, as it is their duty to do, consult and prefer 
the interests of their particular constituents when they come 
in conflict with any other partial or local interest, yet it is 
their first and highest duty, as Representatives of the United 
States, to promote the general good. 

The Constitution of the United States then forms a govern- 
ment, not a league, and whether it be formed by compact be- 
tween the states, or in any other manner, its character is the 
same. It is a government in which all the people are repre- 
sented, which operates directly on the people individually, not 
upon the states — they retained all the power they did not grant. 
But each State having expressly parted M'ith so many powers, 
as to constitute jointly with the other States a single nation- 



PROCLAMATION TO THE NULLIFIERS. 209 

cannot from that period possess any right to secede, hecause 
such secession does not break a league, but destroys the unity 
of a nation, and any injury to that unity is not only a breach 
which would result from the contravention of a compact, but 
it is an offense against the \vhole Union. To say that any 
State may at pleasure secede from the Union, is to say that the 
United States are not a nation, because it would be a solecism 
to contend that any part of a nation might dissolve its connex- 
ion with the other parts, to their injury or ruin, without com- 
mitting any offense. Secession, like any other revolutionary 
act, may be morally justified by the extremity of oppression ; 
but to call it a constitutional right, is confounding the mean- 
ing of terms, and can only be done through gross error, or to 
deceive those who are willing to assert a right, but would 
pause before they m.ade a revolution, or incur the penalties 
consequent on a failure. 

Because the Union was formed by compact, it is said the 
parlies to that compact may, when they feel themselves ag- 
grieved, depart from it, but it is precisely because it is a com- 
pact that they cannot. A compact is an agreement or binding 
obligation. It may by its terms have a sanction or penalty for 
its breach, or it may not. If it contains no sanction, it may 
be broken with no other consequence than moral guilt ; if it 
have a sanction, then the breach incurs the designated or im- 
plied penalty. A league between independent nations, gene- 
rally, has no sanction other than a moral one ; or if it should 
contain a penalty, as there is no common superior, it cannot 
be enforced. A government, on the contrary, always has a 
sanction express or implied, and in our case, it is both neces- 
sarily implied and expressly given. An attempt by force of 
arms to destroy a government, is an offense, by whatever 
means the constitutional compact may have been formed ; and 
such government has the right, by the law of self-defense, to 
pass acts for punishing the offender, unless that right is modi- 
fied, restrained, or resumed by the constitutional act. In our 
system, although it is modified in the case of treason, yet au- 
thority is expressly- given to pass all laws necessary to carry 
its powers into effect, and under this grant, provision has been 
14 



210 LirE or andrew jackson. 

made for punishing acts which obstruct the due administration 
of the laws. 

It would seem superfluous to add any thing to show the na- 
ture of that union w^hich connects us; but as erroneous opin- 
ions on this subject are the foundation of doctrines the most 
destructive to our peace, I must give some further development 
to my views on this subject. No one, fellow-citizens, has a 
higher reverence for the reserved rights of the states, than the 
magistrate who now addresses you. No one would make 
greater personal sacrifices, or official exertions, to defend them 
from violation, but equal care must be taken to prevent on 
their part an improper interference with, or resumption of the 
rights they have vested in the nation. The line has hot been 
so distinctly drawn as to avoid doubts in some cases of the ex- 
ercise of power. Men of the best intentions and soundest 
views may differ in their construction of some parts of the 
Constitution ; but there are others on which dispassionate re- 
flection can leave no doubt. Of this nature appears to be the 
assum.ed right of secession. It rests, as v/e have seen, on the 
alleged undivided sovereignty of the states, and on their hav- 
ing formed in this sovereign capacity a compact w^hich is call- 
ed the Constitution, from which, because they m.ade it, they 
have the right to secede. Both of these positions are errone- 
ous, and some of the arguments to prove them so have been 
anticipated. 

The states severally have not retained their entire sovereign- 
ty. It has been shown tha^in becoming parts of a nation, not 
members of a league, they surrendered many of their essential 
parts of sovereignty. The riglit to make treaties, declare war, 
levy taxes, exercise exclusive judicial and legislative powers, 
were all of them functions of sovereign power. The states, 
then, for all these important purposes, were no longer sover- 
eign. The allegiance of their citizens was transferred in the 
first instance to the Government of the United States ; they be- 
came American citizens, and owed obedience to the Constitu- 
tion of the United States, and to laws made in conformity with 
powers it vested in Congress. This last position has not been, 
and cannot be denied. How then can that State be said to be 



PROCLAMATION TO THE NULLIFIERS. 211 

sovereign and independent whose citizens owe obedience to 
laws not made by it, and whose magistrates are sworn to dis- 
regard those laws, when they come in conflict with those pass- 
ed by another ? What shows conclusively that the states can- 
not be said to have reserved an undivided sovereignty, is that 
they expressly ceded the right to punish treason, not treason 
against their separate power, but treason against the United 
States. Treason is an offense against sovereignty, and sov- 
ereignty must reside with the power to punish it. But. the re- 
served rights of the states are not the less sacred because they 
have for the common interest made the general government 
the depository of these powers. ' The unity of our political 
character (as has been shown for another purpose) commenced 
with its very existence. Under the royal government, we had 
no separate character ; our opposition to its oppressions began 
as UNITED COLONIES. We were the United States under the 
Confederation, and the name was perpetuated and the Union 
rendered more perfect by the Federal Constitution. In none 
of these stages did we consider ourselves in any other light 
than as forming one nation. Treaties and alliances were made 
in the name of all. Troops were raised for the joint defense- 
How, then, with all these proofs, that under all changes cf 6m' 
position we had, for designated purposes, and with defined 
powers, created national governments ; how is it that the most 
perfect of those several modes of union, should now he con- 
sidered as a mere league that may be dissolved at pleasure ? 
It is from an abuse of terms. Compact is used as synonymous 
with league, although the true term is not employed, because 
it would at once show the fallacy of the reasoning. It would 
not do to say that our Constitution was only a league, but, it 
is labored to prove it a compact, (which in one sense it is,) and 
then to argue that as a league is a compact, every compact be- 
tween nations must of course be a league, and that from such 
an engagement every sovereign power has a right to recede. 
But it has been shown, that in this sense the States are not 
sovereign, and that even if they were, and the National Con- 
stitution had been formed by compact, there would be no 
right in any one State to exonerate itself from its obligations. 



212 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

So obvious are the reasons wliich forbid this secession, 
that it is necessary only to allude to them. The Union was 
formed for the benefit of all. It was produced by mutual 
sacrifices of interests and opinion. Can those sacrifices be 
recalled .' Can the States, who magnanimously surrendered 
their title to the territories of the west, recall the grant ? 
Will the inhabitants of the inland States agree to pay the 
duties that may be imposed without their assent by those 
on the Atlantic or the gulf, for their own benefit ? Shall 
there be a free port in one, State and onerous duties in an- 
other .' No one believes that any right exists in a single 
State to involve all the others in these and countless other 
evils, contrary to engagements solemnly made. Every one 
must see that the other States, in self-defense, must oppose 
it at all hazards. 

These are the alternatives that are presented by the Con- 
vention ; a repeal of all the acts for raising revenue, leav- 
ing the government without the means of support ; or an 
acquiescence in the dissolution of our Union by the seces- 
sion of one of its members. AVhen the first was proposed, 
it was known that it could not be listened to for a moment. 
Jt was known if force was applied to oppose the execution 
of the laws, that it must be repelled by force — that Con- 
gress could not, without involving itself in disgrace and the 
country in ruin, accede to the proposition ; and yet if this 
is done on a given day, or if any attempt is made to exe- 
cute the laws, the State is, by the ordinance, declared to be 
out of the Union. 

The majority of a Convention assembled for the purpose, 
have dictated these terms, or rather its rejection of all terms, 
in the name of the people of South Carolina. It is true that 
the Governor of the State speaks of submission of their griev- 
ances to a Convention of all the States ; which he says 
they " sincerely and anxiously seek and desire." Yet this 
obvious and constitutional mode of obtaining the sense of 
the other States on the construction of the federal compact, 
and amending it, if necessary, has never been attempted by 
those who have urged the State on to this destructive meas- 



PROCLAMATION TO THE XULLIFIERS. 213 

lire. The State might have proiDosed the call for a general 
convention to the other States ; and Congress, if a sufficient 
number of them concurred, must have called it. 

But the first magistrate of South Carolina, when he ex- 
pressed a hope that, " on a review by Congress and the func- 
tionaries of the general government of the merits of the con- 
troversy," such a Convention w^ill be accorded to them, must 
have know^n that neither Congress nor any functionary of the 
general government has authority to call such a Convention, 
unless it be demanded by two-thirds of the States. This sug- 
gestion, then, is another instance of a reckless inattention to 
the provisions of the Constitution with which this crisis has 
been madly hurried on ; or of the attem.pt to persuade the 
people that a constitutional remedy had been sought and re- 
fused. If the Legislature of South Carolina " anxiously de- 
sire" a general convention to consider their complaints, why 
have they not made application for it in the way the Consti- 
tution points out.' The assertion that they "earnestly seek 
it" is completely negatived by the omission. 

This, then, is the position in which we stand. A small 
majority of the citizens of one State in the Union have elected 
delegates to a State Convention; that Convention has ordained 
that all the revenue laws of the United States m.ust be re- 
pealed, or that they are no longer a member of the Union. 
The Governor of that State has recommended to the Legis- 
lature the raising of an army to carry the secession into effect, 
and that he may be empowered to give clearances to vessels 
in the name of the State. No act of violent opposition to the 
laws has yet been committed, but such a state of things is 
hourly apprehended, and it is the intent of this instrument to 
PROCLAIM not only the duty imposed on me by the Con- 
stitution " to take care that the laws be faithfully executed," 
shall be performed to the extent of the powers already vested 
in me by law, or of such others as the wisdom of Congress 
shall devise and entrust to me for that purpose ; but to warn 
the citizens of South Carolina, who have been deluded into 
an opposition to the laws, of the danger they will incur by 
obedience to the illegal and disorganizing ordinance of the 
Convention — to exhort those who have refused to support it. 



214 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

to persevere in their determination to uphold the Constitution 
and laws of their country — and to point out to all, the peril- 
ous situation into which the good people of that State have 
been led — and that the course they are urged to pursue is one 
of ruin and disgrace to the very State whose rights they effect 
to support. 

/...^Fell^>?L:iyjJ;5ejl&-.oi-J^ me not onlyadmo- 

/nish you, as the first Magistrate of our common country, not 
I to incur the penalty of its laws, but use the influence that a 
j father would over his children, whom he saw rushing to cer- 
/tain ruin. In that paternal language, with that paternal feel- 
ing, let me tell you, my countrymen, that you are deluded by 
men who are either deceived themselves, or wish to deceive 
you. Mark under what pretences you have been led on to 
the brink of insurrection and treason, on which you stand ! 
First, a diminution of the value of your staple commodity low- 
ered by over production in other quarters and the consequent 
diminution in the value of your lands, were the sole effect of 
the Tariff laws. The effect of those laws was confessedly inju- 
rious, but the evil was greatly exaggerated by the unfounded 
theory you were taught to believe, that its burdens were in 
proportion to your exports, not to your consumption of import- 
ed articles. Your pride was roused by the assertion that a 
submission to those laws was a state of vassalage, and that 
resistance to them w^as equal, in patriotic merit, to the opposi- 
tion our Fathers offered to the oppressive laws of Great Brit- 
ain. You were told that this opposition might be peaceably — 
might be constitutionally made — that you might enjoy all the 
advantages of the Union and bear none of its burthens. Elo- 
quent appeals to your passions, to your State pride, to your 
native courage, to your sense of real injury, were used to pre- 
pare you for the period when the mask which concealed the 
hideous features of disunion, should be taken off. It fell, and 
you were made to look with complacency on objects which 
not long since you would have regarded with horror. Look 
back to the arts which have brought you to this state ; look 
forward to the consequences to which it must inevitably lead ! 
Look back to what was first told you as an inducement to en- 
ter into this dangerous course. The great political truth was 



PROCLAMATION TO THE NULLIFIERS. 215 

a-epeated to you, that you had the revolutionary right of resist- 
ing all laws that were palpably unconstitutional and intolera- 
bly oppressive — it was added that the right to nullify a law 
rested on the same principle, but that it was a peaceable reme- 
dy ! This character which was given to it, made you receive 
with too much confidence the assertions that were made of the 
unconstitutionality of the law and its oppressive effects. 

Mark, my fellow-citizens, that by the admission of your 
leaders, the unconstitutionality must be palpable, or it will not 
justify either resistance or nullification ! What is the mean- 
ing of the word palpable in the sense in which it is here used ? 
— that which is apparent to every one, that which no man of 
•ordinary intellect will fail to perceive. Is the unconstitution- 
ality of these laws of that description.' Let those among 
your leaders who once approved and advocated the principle 
•of protective duties answer the question ; and let them choose 
whether they will be considered as incapable, then, of per- 
ceiving that which must have been apparent to every man of 
<;ommon understanding, or as imposing upon your confidence 
a,nd endeavoring to mislead you now. In either case they are 
unsafe guides in the perilous paths they urge you to tread. 
Ponder well on this circumstance, and you will know how to 
.appreciate the exaggerated language they address to you. They 
are not champions of liberty, emulating the fame of our Rev- 
olutionary Fathers, nor are you an oppressed people, contend- 
ing, as they repeat to you, against w^orse than colonial vassal- 
age. You are free members of a flourishing and happy Un- 
ion. There is no settled design to oppress you. You have 
indeed felt the unequal operations of laws which may have 
been unwisely, not unconstitutionally passed; but that ine- 
quality must necessarily be removed. 

At the very moment when you were madly urged on to the 
unfortunate course you have begun, a change in public opin- 
ion had commenced. The nearly approaching payment of the 
public debt, and the consequent necessity of a diminution of 
duties, had already produced a considerable reduction, and that 
too on some articles of general consumption in your State. 
The importance of this change was understood, and you were 
authoritatively told that no further alleviation of your bur- 



216 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

dens was to be expected at the very time when the condition 
of the country imperiously demanded such a modification of 
the duties as should reduce them to a just and equitable scale. 
But, as if apprehensive of the effect of this change in allay- 
ing your discontents, you were precipitated into the fearful 
state in which 3^ou now find yourselves. 

I have urged you to look back to the means that were used 
to hurry you on to the position you have now assumed, and 
forward to the consequences it will produce. Something more 
is necessary. Contemplate the condition of that country of 
Avhicli you still form an important part ! consider its Govern- 
ment uniting in one bond of common interest and general pro- 
tection so many different States — giving to their inhabitants 
the proud title of American citizens — protecting their commerce 
— securing their literature and their arts — facilitating their in- 
tercommunication — defending the frontiers — and making their 
name respected in the remotest parts of the earth ! Consider 
the extent of its territory, its increasing and happy popula- 
tion, its advance in arts which render life agreeable, and the 
sciences which elevate the mind: see education spreading the 
lights of religion, humanity, and general information into ev- 
ery cottage in this wide extent of our Territories and States ! 
Behold it as the asylum, where the wretched and the oppress- 
ed find a refuge and support I Look on this picture of hap- 
piness and honor, and say, we, too, are citizens of America ! 
Carolina is one of these proud States ; her arms have defend- 
ed her; her best blood has cemented this happy Union! And 
then add, if you can, without horror and remorse, this happy 
Union we will dissolve — this picture of peace and prosperity 
we will deface— this free intercourse we will interrupt — these 
fertile fields we will deluge with blood — the protection of that 
glorious flag we will renounce — the very name of Americans 
we discard. And for what, mistaken men ! for what do you 
throw away these inestimable blessings — for what would you 
exchange your share in the advantage and honor of the Union .' 
For the dream of a separate independence — a dream interrupt- 
ed by bloody conflicts with you neighbors, and a vile depend- 
ence on a foreign power. If your leaders could succeed in 
establishing a separation, what would be your situation ? Are. 



PROCLAMATION TO THE NULLIFIERS. 217 

you united at home — are you free from the apprehension of 
civil discord, with all its fearful consequences ? Do our neigh- 
boring republics, every day suffering some new revolution or 
contending with some new insurrection — do they excite your 
envy ? But the dictates of a high duty oblige me solemnly to 
announce that you cannot succeed. 

The laws of the United States mast be executed. I have 
no discretionary power on the subject ; my duty is emphati- 
cally pronounced in the Constitution. Those who told you 
that you might peaceably prevent their execution, deceived 
you — they could not have been deceived themselves. They 
know that a forcible opposition could alone prevent the exe- 
cution of the laws, and they know that such opposition must 
be repelled. Their object is disunion : be not deceived by 
names ; disunion, by armed force, is treason. Are you really 
ready to incur its guilt } If you are, on the heads of the instiga- 
tors of the act, be the dreadful consequences — on their heads 
be the dishonor, but on yours may fall the punishment, on 
your unhappy State will inevitably fall all the evils of the 
conflict you force upon the Government of your country. It 
cannot accede to the mad project of disunion, of which you 
would be the first victims — its first Magistrate cannot, if he 
would, avoid the performance of his duty — the consequence 
must be fearful for you, distressing to your fellow-citizens 
here, and to the friends of good government throughout the 
world. Its enemies have beheld our prosperity with a vexa- 
tion they could not conceal — it was a standing refutation of 
their slavish doctrines, and they will point to our discord with 
a triumph of malignant joy. It is yet in your powder to disap- 
point them. There is 5'et time to show^ that the descendants 
of the Pinckneys, the Sumpters, the Rutleges, and of the 
thousand other names which adorn the pages of your Revolu- 
tionary history, will not abandon that Union, to support which, 
many of them fought and bled and died. I adjure you, as you 
honor their memory — as you love the cause of freedom, to 
which they dedicated their lives — as you prize the peace of 
3'our country, the lives of its best citizens, and your own fair 
fame, to retrace your steps. Snatch from the archives of your 
State the disorganizing edict of its Convention — bid its mem- 



218 LIFE OF ANDRE^V JACKSON. 

bers to re-assemble and promulgate the decided expressions of 
your will to remain in the path which alone can conduct you 
to safety, prosperity and honor — tell them that compared to 
disunion, all other evils are light, because that brings with it 
s,n accumulation of all — declare that you will never take the 
field unless the star-spangled banner of your country shall 
float over you — that you will not be stigmatized when dead, 
and dishonored and scorned while you live, as the authors of 
the first attack, on the Constitution of your country ! — Its de- 
stroyers you cannot be. You may disturb its peace — you may 
interrupt the course of its prosperity — you may cloud its repu- 
tation for stability — but its tranquility wnll be restored, its 
prosperity will return, and the stain upon its national charac- 
ter will be transferred, and remain an eternal blot on the mem- 
ory of those who caused the disorder. 

Fellow-citizens of the United States ! The threat of unhal- 
lowed disunion — the names of those, once respected, by whom 
it was uttered — the array of military force to support it — de- 
note the approach of a crisis in our affairs, on which the con- 
tinuance of our unexampled prosperity, our political existence, 
and perhaps that of all free governments may depend. The 
conjuncture demanded a free, a full and explicit enunciation, not 
only of my intentions, but of my principles of action ; and as 
the claim was asserted of a right by a State to annul the laws 
of the Union, and even to secede from it at pleasure, a frank 
exposition of my opinions in relation to the origin and form 
of our Government, and the construction I give to the instru- 
ment by which it v\'as created, seemed to be proper. Having 
the fullest confidence in the justness of the legal and consti- 
tutional opinion of my duties, which has been expressed, I re- 
ly with equal confidence on your undivided support in my de- 
termination to execute the laws — to preserve the Union by all 
constitutional means — to arrest, if possible, by moderate but 
firm measures, the necessity of a recourse to force; and if it 
be the will of Heaven that the recurrence of its primeval 
curse on man for the shedding of a brother's blood should fall 
upon our land, that it be not called down by any offensive act 
on the part of the United States. 

Fellow-citizens 1 the momentous case is before you. On 



FAREWELL ADDRESS. 219 

your "undivided support of your government, depends the de- 
cision of the great question it involves, whether your sacred 
Union will be preserved, and the blessing it secures to us as 
one people shall be perpetuated. No one can doubt that the 
unanimity with which that decision will be expressed, will be 
such as to inspire new confidence in republican institutions, 
and that the prudence, the wisdom, and the courage which it 
will bring to their defense, will transmit them unimpaired and 
invigorated to our children. 

May the Great Ruler of nations grant that the signal bless- 
ings with which He has favored ours, may not, by the mad- 
ness of party or personal ambition, be disregarded and lost : 
and may His wise providence bring those who have produced 
this crisis, to see the folly, before they feel the misery of civil 
strife ; and inspire a returning veneration for that Union, which, 
if we may dare to penetrate His designs, he has chosen as the 
only means of attaining the high destinies to which we may 
reasonably aspire. 

ANDREW JACKSON. 



220 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSOX. 



PRESIDENT JACKSON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS. 

Fellow-Citizens: Being about to retire finally from public 
life, I beg leave to offer you my grateful thanks for the many 
proofs of kindness and confidence which I have received at 
your hands. It has been my fortune, in the discharge of pub- 
lic duties, civil and military, frequently to have found myself 
in difficult and trying situations, where prompt decision and 
energetic action were necessary, and where the interests of 
the country required that high responsibilities should be fear- 
lessl)' encountered ; and it is with the deepest emotions of 
gratitude that I acknowledge the continued and unbroken con- 
fidence with which you have sustained me in every trial. My 
public life has been a long one, and I cannot hope that it has 
at all times been free from errors. But I have the consolation 
of knowing, that if mistakes have been committed, they have 
not seriously injured the country I so anxiously endeavored 
to serve ; and at the moment when I surrender my last public 
trust, I leave this great people prosperous and happy; in the 
full enjoyment of liberty and peace : and honored and respect- 
ed by every nation of the world. 

If my humble efforts have, in any degree, contributed to 
preserve to you these blessings, I have been more than re- 
warded by the honors you have heaped upon me ; and, above 
all, by the generous confidence with which you have sup- 
ported me in every peril, and with which you have continued 
to animate and cheer my path to the closing hour of my politi- 
cal life. The time has now come, when advanced age and a 
broken frame warn me to retire from public concerns ; but the 
recollection of the many favors 5-ou have bestowed upon me 
is engraven upon my heart, and I have felt that I could not 
part from your service without making this public acknow- 
ledgment of the gratitude I owe you. And if I use the occa- 
sion to offer to you the counsels of age and experience, you 
will, I trust, receive them with the same indulgent kindness 
which you have so often extended to me ; and will, at least, 
see in them an earnest desire to perpetuate, in this favored 
land, the blessings of liberty and equal laws. 



FAREWELL ADDRESS. 221 

We have now lived almost fifty years under the Constitu- 
tion framed by the sages and patriots of the Revolution. The 
conflicts in which the nations of Europe were engaged during 
a great part of this period; the spirit in which they waged 
war with each other; and our intimate commercial connec- 
tions with every part of the civilized world, rendered it a 
time of much difficulty for the Government of the United 
States. We have had our seasons of peace and of war, with 
all the evils which precede or follow a state of hostility with 
powerful nations. We encountered these trials, with our Con- 
stitution yet in its infancy, and under the disadvantages which 
a new and untried government must always feel, when it is 
called upon to put forth its whole strength, without the lights 
of experience to guide it, or the weight of precedents to jus- 
tify its measures. But we have passed triumphantly through 
all these difficulties. Our Constitution is no longer a doubtful 
experiment ; and at the end of nearly half a century, we find 
that it has preserved, unimpaired, the liberties of the people, 
secured the rights of property, and is flourishing beyond any 
former example in the history of nations. 

In our domestic concerns, there is every thing to encourage 
us ; and if you are true to yourselves, nothing can impede 
your march to the highest point of national prosperity. The 
iStates which had so long been retarded in their improvement 
by the Indian tribes residing in the midst of them, are at 
length relieved from the evil ; and this unhappy race — the 
original dwellers in our land — are now placed in a situation 
where we may w^ell hope that they will share in the blessings 
of civilization, and be saved from that degradation and de- 
struction to which they were rapidly hastening, while they 
remained in the States ; and while the safety and comfort of 
our own citizens have been greatly promoted by their removal, 
the philanthropist will rejoice that the remnant of that ill-fated 
race has been at length placed beyond the reach of injury or 
oppression, and that the paternal care of the General Govern- 
ment will hereafter watch over them and protect them. 

If we turn to our relations with foreign powers, we find our 
condition equally gratifying. Actuated by the sincere desire to 
-do justice to every nation, and to preserve the blessings of 



222 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

peace, our intercourse with them has been conducted on the 
part of this government in the spirit of frankness, and I take 
pleasure in saying that it has generally been met in a corres- 
ponding temper. Difficulties of old standing have been sur- 
mounted by friendly discussion, and the mutual desire to be 
just; and the claims of our citizens, which had been long 
withheld, have at length been acknowledged and adjusted, 
and satisfactory arrangements made for their final payment; 
and with a limited, and I trust a temporary exception, our re- 
lations with every foreign power are now of the most friendly 
character — our commerce continually expanding, and our flag 
respected in every quarter of the world. 

These cheering and grateful prospects, and these multiplied 
favors, we owe, under Providence, to the adoption of the 
Federal Constitution. It is no longer a question whether this 
great country can remain happily united, and flourish under 
our present form of government. Experience, the unerring 
test of all human undertakings, has shovv'n the wisdom and 
foresight of those who framed it ; and has proved, that in the 
union of these States there is a sure foundation for the bright- 
est hopes of freedom, and for the happiness of the people. 
At every hazard, and by every sacrifice, this union must be 
preserved. 

The necessity of watching with jealous anxiety, for the 
preservation of the Union, v/as earnestly pressed upon his 
fellow-citizens by the Father of his countr)^ in his farewell 
address. He has there told us, that " while experience shall 
not have demonstrated its impracticability, there will always 
be reason to distrust the patriotism of those who, in any quar- 
ter, may endeavor to weaken its bonds;" and he has cautioned 
us, in the strongest terms, against the formation of parties 
on geographical discriminations, as one of the means which 
might disturb our union, and to which designing men would 
be likely to resort. 

The lessons contained in this valuable legacy of Washing- 
ton to his countrymen, should be cherished in the heart of ev- 
ery citizen to the latest generation ; and perhaps, at no period 
of time could they be more usefully remembered than at the 
present moment. For when we look upon the scenes that are 



FAFxEWELL ADDRESS. 223 

passing around us, and dwell upon the pages of his parting 
address, his paternal counsels would seem to be not merely the 
offspring of wisdom and foresight, but the voice of prophecy 
foretelling events and warning us of the evil to come. Forty 
years have passed since this imperishable document was given 
to his countrymen. The Federal Constitution was then regard- 
ed by him as an experiment, and he so speaks of it in his ad- 
dress; but an experiment upon the success of which the best 
hopes of his country depended, a.nd we all know that he was 
prepared to lay down his life, if necessary, to secure to it a 
full and fair trial. The trial has been made. It has succeed- 
ed beyond the proudest hopes of those who framed it. Every 
quarter of this widely extended nation has felt its blessings, 
and shared in the general prosperity produced by its adoption. 
But amid this general prosperity and splendid success, the dan- 
gers of which he warned us are becoming every day more ev- 
ident, and the signs of evil are sufficiently apparent to awaken 
the deepest anxiety in the bosom of the patriot. We hold sys- 
tematic eflorts publicly made to sow the seeds of discord be- 
tween different parts of the United States, and to place party 
divisions directly upon geographical distinctions ; to excite 
the South against the North, and the North against the South, 
and to force into the controversy the most delicate and exci- 
ting topics ; topics upon which it is impossible that a large por- 
tion of the Union can ever speak without strong emotions. 
Appeals too, are constantly made to sectional interests, in or- 
der to influence the election of the Chief Magistrate, as if it 
Vv'ere desired that he should favor a particular quarter of the 
country, instead of fulfilling the duties of his station with im- 
partial justice to all ; and the possible dissolution of the Un- 
ion, has at length become an ordinary and familiar subject of 
discussion. Has the warning voice of Washington been for- 
gotten ? or have designs already been formed to sever the Un- 
ion.^ Let it not be supposed that I impute to all of those who 
have taken an active part in these unwise and unprofitable dis- 
cussions, a want of patriotism or of public virtue. The honor- 
able feeling of State pride, and local attachments, find a place 
in the bosoms of the most enlightened and pure. But while 
such men are conscious of their own integrity and honesty of 



224 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

purpose, they ought never to forget that the citizens of other 
states are their pohtical brethren; and that, however mistaken 
they may be in their views, the great body of them are equally 
honest and upright with themselves. Mutual suspicions and 
reproaches may in time create mutual hostility, and artful and 
designing m.en will always be found, who are ready to foment 
these fatal divisions, and to inflame the natural jealousies of 
different sections of the country. The history of the world is 
full of such examples, and especially the historj' of republics. 
What have you to gain by division and dissension .' Delude 
not yourselves with the belief that a breach once made, may be 
afterwards repaired. If the Union is once severed, the line of 
separation will grow wider and wider, and the controversies 
which are now debated and settled in the halls of legislation, 
will then be tried in fields of battle, and be determined by the 
sword. Neither should you deceive yourselves with the hope , 
that the first line of separation would be the permanent one, 
and that nothing but harmony and concord would be found in 
the new associations, formed upon the dissolution of this 
Union. Local interests would still be found there, and un- 
chastened ambition. And if the recollection of common dan- 
gers, in which the people of these United States stood side be- 
side against the common foe ; the memory of victories won by 
their united valor; the prosperity and happiness they have en- 
joyed under the present Constitution ; the proud name they 
bear as citizens of this great republic ; if all these recollections 
and proofs of common interest are not strong enough to bind 
us together as one people, what tie will hold united the new 
divisions of empire, when these bonds have been broken and 
this Union dissevered .' The first line of separation would not 
last for a single generation; new fragments would be torn off; 
new leaders would spring up ; and this great and glorious re- 
public would soon be broken into a multitude of petty States ; 
armed for mutual aggression; loaded with taxes to pay armies 
and leaders; seeking aid against each other from foreign 
povv^ers; insulted and trampled upon by the nations of Europe, 
until, harassed with conflicts, and humbled and debased in spirit, 
they would be ready to submit to the absolute dominion of any 
military adventurer, and to surrender their liberty for the sake 



FAREWELL ADDRESS 225 

of repose. It is impossible to look on the consequences that 
would inevitably follow the destruction of this government, 
and not feel indignant when we hear cold calculations about 
the value of the Union, and have so constantly before us a line 
of conduct so well calculated to weaken its ties 

There is too much at stake to allow pride or passion to in- 
fluence your decision. Never for a moment believe that the 
great body of the citizens of any State or States can delibe- 
rately intend to do wrong. They may, under the influence of 
temporary excitement or mJsguided opinions, commit mistakes ; 
they may be misled for a time by the suggestions of self-in- 
terest; but in a community so enlightened and patriotic as the 
people of the United States, argument will soon m.ake them 
sensible of their errors; and when convinced, they will be 
ready to repair them. If they have no higher or better mo- 
tives to govern them, they will at least perceive that their own 
interest requires them to be just to others, as they hope to re- 
ceive justice at their hands. 

But in order to maintain the Union unimpaired, it is abso- 
lutely necessary that the laws passed by the constituted au- 
thorities, should be faithfully executed in every part of the 
country, and that every good citizen should, at all times, stand 
ready to put down, with the combined force of the nation, 
every attempt at unlawful resistance, under whatever pretext 
it may be made, or whatever shape it may assume. Uncon- 
sthutional or oppressive laws may no doubt be passed by Con- 
gress, either from erroneous views, or the want of due consid- 
eration ; if they are within reach of judicial authority, the 
remedy is easy and peaceful ; and if, from the character of the 
law, it is an abuse of power not within the control of the ju- 
diciary, then free discussion and calm appeals to reason and 
to the justice of the people, will not fail to redress the wrong. 
But until the law shall be declared void by the courts, or re- 
pealed by Congress, no individual or combination of individu- 
als, can be justified in forcibly resisting its execution. It is 
impossible that any government can continue to exist upon 
any other principles. It would cease to be a government and 
be unworthy of the name, if it had not the power to enforce 
the execution of its owui laws within its own sphere of action. 
15 



226 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

It is true that cases may be imagined, disclosing such a set- 
tled purpose of usurpation and oppression, on the part of the- 
Government, as would justify an appeal to arms. These, how- 
ever, are extreme cases, which we have no reason to appre- 
hend in a Government where the power is in the hands of a 
patriotic people ; and no citizen who loves his country would, 
in any case whatever, resort to forcible resistance, unless he 
clearly saw that the time had come when a freeman should 
prefer death to submission ; for if such a struggle is once be- 
gun, and the citizens of one section of the country arrayed 
in arms against those of another, in doubtful conflict, let the 
battle result as it may, there will be an end of the Union, and 
with it an end of the hopes of freedom. The victory of the- 
injured would not secure to them the blessings of liberty ; it 
would avenge their wrongs, but they would themselves share 
in the common ruin. 

But the Constitution cannot be maintained, nor the Union 
preserved in opposition to public feeling, by the mere exertion 
of the coercive powers confided to the General Government. 
The foundations must be laid in the affections of the people ; in 
the security it gives to life, liberty, character and property in 
every quarter of the country ; and in the fraternal attachments 
which the citizens of the several States bear to one another, 
as members of one political family, mutually contributing ta 
promote the liappiness of each other. Hence, the citizens of 
every State should studiously avoid every thing calculated to 
wound the sensibility or offend the just pride of the people of 
other States; and they should frown upon any proceedings 
within their own borders likely to disturb the tranquility of 
their political brethren in other portions of the Union. In a 
country so extensive as the United States, and with pursuits 
so varied, the internal regulations of the several States must 
frequently differ from one another in important particulars; 
and this difference is unavoidably increased by the varying 
principles upon which the American Colonies were originally 
planted ; principles which had taken deep root in their social 
relations before the Revolution, and therefore, of necessity, 
influencing their policy since they became free and independ- 
ent States. But each State has the unquestionable right to 



FAREWELL ADDRESS. 227 

regulate its own internal concerns according to its own pleas^ 
lire ; and while it does not interfere with the rights of the 
people of other States, or the rights of the Union, every State 
must be the sole judge of the measures proper to secure the 
safety of its citizens and promote their happiness ; aiKl all 
efforts on the part of the people of other States to cast odium 
upon their institutions, and all measures calculated to disturb 
their rights of property, or to put in jeopardy their peace and 
internal tranquility, are in direct opposition to the spirit in 
which the Union was formed, and must endanger its safety. 
Motives of philanthropy may be assigned for this unwarrant- 
able interference ; and weak men may persuade themselves 
for a moment that they are laboring in the cause of humanity, 
and asserting the rights of the human race ; but every one, 
upon sober reflection, will see that nothing but mischief can 
come from these improper assaults upon the feelings and rights 
of others. Rest assured, that the men found busy in thi?4 
work of discord are not worthy of your confidence, and de- 
serve your strongest reprobation. 

In the legislation of Congress, also, and in every measure 
of the General Government, justice to every portion of the 
United States should be faithfully observed. No free govern- 
ment can stand without virtue in the people, and a lofty spirit 
of patriotism; and if the sordid feelings of mere selfishness 
shall usurp the place which ought to be filled by public spirit, 
the legislation of Congress will soon be converted into a scram- 
ble for personal and sectional advantages. Under our free 
institutions, the citizens of every quarter of our country are 
capable of attaining a high degree of prosperity and happi- 
ness, without seeking to profit themselves at the expense of 
others ; and every such attempt must, in the end, fail to suc- 
ceed ; for the people in every part of the United States are too 
enlightened not to understand their own rights and interests, 
and to detect and defeat every effort to gain undue advantages 
over them; and when such designs are discovered, it naturally 
provokes resentments which cannot always be allayed. Jus- 
tice, full and ample justice, to every portion of the United 
States, should be the ruhng principle of every freeman, and 



2'28 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

should guide the deliberations of every public body, whether 
it be state or national. 

It is well known that there have always been those among 
us M'ho wish to enlarge the powers of the General Government ; 
and experience vrould seem to indicate that there is a ten- 
dency on the part of this Government to overstep the bounda- 
ries marked out for it by the Constitution. Its legitimate au- 
thority is abundantly sufficient for all the purposes for which 
it was created: and its powers being expressly enumerated, 
there can be no justification for claiming anything beyond 
them. Every attempt to exercise power beyond these limits 
should be promptly and firmly opposed. For one evil exam- 
ple will lead to other measures still more mischievous; and if 
the principle of constructive powers, or supposed advantages, 
or temporary circumstances, shall ever be permitted to justify 
the assumption of a power not given by the Constitution, the 
General Government will before long absorb all the powers of 
legislation, and you will have, in effect, but one consolidated 
government. From the extent of our country, its diversified 
interests, different pursuits, and different habits, it is too obvi- 
ous for argument that a single consolidated government would 
be wholly inadequate to watch over and protect its interests; 
and every friend of our free institutions should be always pre- 
pared to maintain unimpaired and in full vigor the rights and 
sovereignty of the States, and to confine the action of the Gen- 
eral Government strictly to the sphere of its appropriate duties. 
^ There is, perhaps, no one of the powers conferred on the 
' -'' Federal Government so liable to abuse as the taxing power. 
The most productive and convenient sources of revenue were 
necessarily given to it, that it might be able to perform the im- 
portant duties imposed upon it ; and the taxes which it lays 
upon commerce being concealed from the real payer in the 
price of the article, they do not so readily attract the attention 
of the people as smaller sums demanded from them directly by 
the tax-gatherer. But the tax imposed on goods, enhances by 
so much the price of the commodity to the consumer ; and as 
many of these duties are imposed on articles of necessity which 
are daily used by the great body of the people, the money 



FAREVv'ELL ADDRESS. 229 

raised by these imposts is drawn from their pockets. Con- 
gress has no right under the Constitution to take money from 
the people, unless it is required to execute some one of the spe- 
cilic powers entrusted to the Government ; and if they raise 
more than is necessary for such purposes, it is an abuse of 
the power of taxation, and unjust and oppressive. It may in- 
deed happen that the revenue will sometimes exceed the amount 
anticipated when the taxes were laid. When, however, this 
is ascertained, it is easy to reduce them ; and, in such a case, 
it is unquestionably the duty of the Government to reduce 
them, for no circumstances can justify it in assuming a power 
not given to it by the Constitution, nor in taking away the 
money of the people when it is not needed for the legitimate 
wants of the Government. 

Plain as these principles appear to be, you will yet find that 
there is a constant effort to induce the General Government to 
go beyond the limits of its taxing power, and to impose unne- 
cessary burdens upon the people. Many powerful interests 
are continually at work to procure heavy duties on conmierce, 
and to swell the revenue beyond the real necessities of the 
public service; and the country has already felt the injurious 
effects of their combined influence. They succeeded in obtain- 
ing a tariff of duties bearing most oppressively on the agricul- 
tural and laboring classes of -society, and producing a revenue 
that could not be usefully employed within the range of the 
powers conferred upon Congress ; and in order to fasten upon 
the people this unjust and unequal system of taxation, extrav- 
agant schemes of internal improvement were got up in various 
quarters, to squander the money and to purchase support. 
Thus, one unconstitutional measure was intended to be upheld 
by another, and the abuse of the power of taxation was to be 
maintained by usurping the power of expending the money in 
internal improvements. You cannot have forgotten the severe 
and doubtful struggle through which we passed, when the ex- 
ecutive department of the Government, by its veto, endeavored 
to arrest the prodigal scheme of injustice, and to bring back 
the legislation of Congress to the boundaries prescribed by the 
Constitution. The good sense and practical judgment of the 
people, when the subject was brought before them, sustained 



230 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

the course of the executive, and this plan of unconstitutional 
expenditure for the purposes of corrupt influence is, I trust, 
finally overthrown. 

jThe result of this decision has been felt in the rapid extin- 
guishment of the public debt, and the large accumulation of a 
surplus in the treasury, notwithstanding the tariff was reduced, 
and is now far below the amount originally contemplated by 
its advocates. But, rely upon it, the design to collect an ex- 
travagant revenue, and to burden you with taxes beyond the 
economical wants of the government, is not yet abandoned. 
The various interests which have combined together to impose 
a heavy tariff, and to produce an overflowing treasury, are too 
strong, and have too much at stake, to surrender the contest. 
The corporations and wealthy individuals who are engaged in 
large manufacturing eatablishments, desire a high tariff to in- 
crease their gains. Designing politicians will support it to 
conciliate their favor, and to obtain the means of profuse ex- 
penditure, for the purpose of purchasing influence in other 
quarters ; and since the people have decided that the Federal 
Governm.ent cannot be permitted to employ its income in in- 
ternal improvements, efforts will be made to seduce and mis- 
lead the citizens of the several States, by holding out to them 
the deceitful prospect of benefits to be derived from a surplus 
revenue collected by the General Government, and annually 
divided among the States. And if, encouraged by these falla- 
cious hopes, the States should disregard the principles of econ- 
omy which ought to characterize every republican government, 
and should indulge in lavish expenditures exceeding their re- 
sources, they will, before long, find themselves oppressed with 
debts which they are unable to pay, and the temptation will 
become irresistible to support a high tariff, in order to obtain a 
surplus distribution. Do not allow yourselves, my fellow- 
citizens, to be misled on this subject. The Federal Govern- 
ment cannot collect a surplus for such purposes, without vio- 
lating the principles of the Constitution, and assuming powers 
which have not been granted. It is, moreover, a system of in- 
justice, and, if persisted in, will inevitably lead to corruption, 
and must end in ruin. The surplus revenue will be drawn 
from the pockets of the people — from the farmer, the mechan- 



FAREWELL ADDllESS. 231 

-ic, and the laboring classes of society ; but who will receive it 
when distributed among the States, where it is to be disposed 
of by leading State politicians who have friends to favor, and 
political partisans to gratify? It will certainly not be returned 
to those who paid it, and who have most need of it, and are 
honestly entitled to it. There is but one safe rule, and that is, 
to confine the General Government rigidly within the sphere of 
its appropriate duties. It has no power to raise a revenue, or 
impose taxes, except for the purposes enumerated in the Con- 
stitution ; and if its income is found to <?xceed these wants, it 
should be forthwith reduced, and the burdens of the people so 
iar lighiened. *- 

In reviewing the conflicts which have taken place between 
different interests in the United States, and the policy pursued 
since the adoption of our present form of government, we find 
nothing that has produced such deep-rooted evil as the course 
of legislation in relation to the currency. The Constitution of 
the United States unquestionably intended to secure the people 
a circulating medium of gold and silver. But the establish- 
ment of a National Bank by Congress, with the privilege of 
■issuing paper money receivable in payment of the public dues, 
.and the unfortunate cause of legislation in the several States 
upon the same subject, drove from general circulation the con- 
stitutional currency, and substituted one of paper in its place. 

It was not easy for men engaged in the ordinary pursuits of 
business, whose attention had not been particularly drawn to 
the subject, to forsee all the consequences of a currency exclu- 
sively of paper; and we ought not, on that account, to be sur- 
prised at the facility with which law^s were obtained to carry 
into effect the paper system. Honest, and even enlightened 
men, are sometimes misled by the specious and plausible state- 
ments of the designing. But experience has now proved the 
mischiefs and dangers of a paper currency, and it rests with 
you to determine whether the proper remedy shall be applied. 

The paper system, being founded on public confidence, and 
having of itself no intrinsic value, it is liable to great and 
sudden fluctuations, thereby rendering property insecure, and 
the wages of labor unsteady and uncertain. The corporations 
which create the paper money cannot be relied upon to keep 



232 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

the circulating medium uniform in amount. In times of pros- 
perity, when confidence is high, they are tempted by the pros- 
pect of gain, or by the influence of those who hope to profit 
by it, to extend their issue of paper beyond the bounds of dis- 
cretion and the reasonable demands of business. And when 
these issues have been pushed on, from day to day, until pub- 
lic confidence is at length shaken, then a reaction takes place, 
and they immediately withdraw the credits they have given ; 
suddenly curtail their issues, and produce an unexpected and 
ruinous contraction of the circulating medium, which is felt by 
the whole community. The banks by this means save them- 
selves, and the mischievous consequences of their imprudence or 
cupidity are visited on the public. Nor does the evil stop here. 
These ebbs and flows in the currency, and these indiscreet ex- 
tensions of credit, naturally engender a spirit of speculation 
injurious to the habits and character of the people. We have 
already seen its eflfects in the wild spirit of speculation in the 
public lands and various kinds of stocks, which within the last 
year or two, seized upon such a multitude of our citizens and 
threatened to pervade all classes of society, and to withdraw 
their attention from the sober pursuits of honest industry. It 
is not by encouraging this spirit that we shall best preserve 
public virtue, and promote the true interests of our country. 
But if your currency continues as exclusively paper as it now 
is, it will foster this eager desire to amass wealth without 
labor; it will multiply the number of dependents on bank ac- 
commodations and bank favors; the temptation to obtain money 
at any sacrifice, will become stronger and stronger, and inevi- 
tably lead to corruption, which will find its way into your 
public councils, and destroy, at no distant day, the purity of 
your government. Some of the evils which arise from this 
system of paper, press with peculiar hardship upon the class 
of society least able to bear it. A portion of this currency fre- 
quently becomes depreciated or worthless, and all of it is easily 
counterfeited, in such a manner as to require peculiar skill and 
much experience to distinguish the counterfeit from the genu- 
ine notes. 

These frauds are most generally perpetrated in the smaller 
notes, which are used in the daily transactions of ordinary 



FARFAVELL ADDRESS. 233 

basiness; and the losses occasioned by them are commonly- 
thrown upon the laboring classes of society, whose situation 
and pursuits put it out of their powor to guard themselves 
from these impositions, and whose daily wages are necessary 
for their subsistence. It is the duty of every government, so 
to regulate its currency as to protect this numerous class, as 
far as practicable, from the impositions of avarice and fraud. 
It is more especially the duty of the United States, Avhere the 
government is emphatically the government of the people, and 
where this respectable portion of our citizens are so proudly 
distinguished from the laboring classes of all other nations by 
their independent spirit, their love of liberty, their intelligence, 
and their high tone of moral character. Their industry in 
peace is the source of our wealth : their bravery in war has 
covered us with glory; and the Government of the United 
States will but ill discharge its duties, if it leaves them, a prey 
to such dishonest impositions. Yet it is evident that their in- 
terests cannot be effectually protected, unless silver and gold 
are restored to circulation. 

These views, alone, of the paper currency, are sufficient to 
call for immediate reform; but there is another consideration 
which should still more strongly press it upon your attention. 

Recent events have proved that the paper money system of 
this country may be used as an engine to undermine your free 
institutions ; and that those who desire to engross all power in 
the hands of a few, and to govern by corruption or force, 
are aware of its power, and prepared to employ it. Your 
banks now furnish your only circulating medium, and money 
is plenty or scarce, according to the quantity of notes issued 
by them. While they have capitals not greatly disproportion- 
ate to each other, they are competitors in business, and no 
one of them can exercise dominion over the rest ; and although, 
in the present state of the currency, these banks may and do 
operate injuriously upon the habits of business, the pecuniary 
concerns, and the moral tone of society ; yet from their num- 
bers and dispersed situation, they cannot combine for the pur- 
poses of political influence ; and whatever may be the disposi- 
tion of some of them, their power of mischief must necesarily 



234: LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

be confined to a narrow space, and felt only in their immediate 
neighborhoods. 

But when the charter for the Bank of the United States was 
obtained from Congress, it perfected the schemes of the paper 
system, and gave to its advocates the position they have strug- 
gled to obtain from the commencement of the Federal Govern- 
ment down to the present hour. The immense capital and 
peculiar privileges bestowed upon it, enabled it to exercise 
despotic sway over the other banks in every part of the coun- 
try. From its superior strength, it could seriously injure, if 
not destroy, the business of any one of them which might in- 
cur its resentment ; and it openly claimed for itself the power 
of regulating the currency throughout the United States. In 
other words, it asserted (and undoubtedly possessed) the power 
to make money plenty or scarce, at its pleasure, at any time, 
and in any quarter of the Union, by controlling the issues of 
other banks, and permitting an expansion, or compelling a 
general contraction of the circulating medium, according to its 
■will. The other banking institutions were sensible of its 
strength, and they soon generally became its obedient instru- 
ments, ready at all times to execute its mandates ; and with 
the banks necessarily went also that numerous class of per- 
sons in our commercial cities who depend altogether on bank 
credits for their solvency and means of business, and who are 
therefore obliged, for their own safety, to propitiate the favor 
of the money power by distinguished zeal and devotion in its 
service. The result of the ill-advised legislation which es- 
tablished this great monopoly, was to concentrate the whole 
moneyed power of the Union, with its boundless means of 
corruption, and its numerous dependents, under the direction 
and command of one acknowledged head ; thus organizing 
this particular interest as one body, and securing to it unity 
and concert of action throughout the United States, and ena- 
bling it to bring forward, upon any occasion, its entire and 
undivided strength to support or defeat any measure of the 
Government. In the hands of this formidable power, thus 
perfectly organized, was also placed unlimited dominion over 
■the amount of the circulating medium, giving it the power to 



FAREWELL ADDRESS. 235 

regulate the value of property and the fruits of labor in every 
quarter of the Union ; and to bestow prosperity, or bring ruin, 
upon any city or section of the country, as might best comport 
with its own interest or policy. 

We are not left to conjecture how the moneyed power, thus 
organized, and with such a weapon in its hands, would be 
likely to use it. The distress and alarm which pervaded and 
agitated the whole country, when the Bank of the United 
States waged war upon the people in order to compel them to 
submit to its demands, cannot yet be forgotten The ruthless 
and unsparing temper with which whole cities and communi- 
ties were oppressed, individuals impoverished and ruined, and 
a scene of cheerful prosperity suddenly changed into one of 
gloom and despondency, ought to be indelibly impressed on 
the memory of the people of the United States. If such was 
its power in a time of peace, what would it not have been in 
a season of war, with an enemy at your doors .' No nation 
but the freemen of the United States could have come out vic- 
torious from such a contest; yet, if you had not conquered, 
the Government would have passed from the hands of the ma- 
ny to the hands of the few ; and this organized money power, 
from its secret conclave, would have dictated the choice of 
your highest officers, and compelled you to make peace or war, 
as best suited their own wishes. The forms of your Govern- 
ment might for a time have remained, but its living spirit 
would have departed from it. 

The distress and sufferings inflicted on the people by the 
Bank are some of the fruits of that system of policy which is 
continually striving to enlarge the authority of the Federal Go- 
vernment beyond the limits fixed by the Constitution. The 
powers enumerated in that instrument do not confer on Con- 
gress the right to establish such a corporation as the Bank of 
the United States : and the evil consequences which followed 
may warn us of the danger of departing from the true rule of 
construction, and of permitting temporary circumstances, or 
the hope of better promoting the public welfare, to influence 
in any degree our decisions upon the extent of the authority 
of the General Government. Let us abide by the Constitution 



236 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

as it is written, or amend it in the constitutional mode, if it is 
found to be defective. 

The severe lessons of experience will, I doubt not, be suffi- 
cient to prevent Congress from again chartering such a monop- 
oly, even if the Constitution did not present an insuperable ob- 
jection to it. But you must remember, my fellow-citizens, that 
eternal vigilance by the people is the price of liberty ; and that 
you must pay the price if you wish to secure the blessing. It 
behooves you, therefore, to be watchful in your States, as well 
as in the Federal Government. The power which the mon- 
eyed interests can exercise, when concentrated under a single 
head and with our present system of currency, was sufficient- 
ly demonstrated in the struggle made by the Bank of the Uni- 
ted States. Defeated in the General Government, the same 
class of intriguers and politicians will now resort to the States, 
and endeavor to obtain there the same organization, which 
they failed to perpetuate in the Union ; and with specious and 
deceitful plans of public advantages, and State interests, and 
State pride, they w^ll endeavor to establish, in the difierent 
States, one moneyed institution with overgrown capital, and 
exclusive privileges, sufficient to enable it to control the oper- 
ations of the other Banks. Such an institution w^ill be preg- 
nant with the same evils produced by the Bank of the United 
States, although its sphere of action is more confined ; and in 
the State in which it is chartered, the money power will be 
able to embody its whole strength, and to move together with 
undivided force, to accomplish any object it may wish to at- 
tain. You have already had abundant evidence of its power 
to inflict injury upon the agricultural, mechanical, and labor- 
ing classes of society ; and over those whose engagements in 
trade or speculation render them dependent on bank facilities, 
the dominion of the State monopoly will be absolute, and their 
obedience unlimited. With such a Bank, and a paper curren- 
cy, the money power would in a few years govern the State 
and control its measures ; and if a sufficient number of States 
can be induced to create such establishments, the time will 
soon come when it wull again take the field against the United 
States, and succeed in perfecting and perpetuating its organi- 
zation by a charter from Congress. 



FAREWELL ADDRESS. 237 

■ It is one of the serious evils of our present system of bank- 
ing, that it enables one class of society — and that by no means 
a numerous one — by its control over the currency, to act in- 
juriously upon the interests of all the others, and to exercise 
more than its just proportion of influence in political affairs. 
The agricultural, the mechanical, and the laboring classes, have 
little or no share in the direction of the great moneyed corpo- 
rations ; and from their habits and the nature of their pursuits, 
they are incapable of forming extensive combinations to act 
together with united force. Such concert of action may some- 
times be produced in a single city, or in a small district of 
country, by means of personal communications with each oth- 
er ; but they have no regular or active correspondence with 
those who are engaged in similar pursuits in distant places^ 
they have but little patronage to give to the press, and exer- 
cise but a small share of influence over it ; they have no crowd 
of dependents about them, w^ho hope to grow rich without la- 
bor, by their countenance and favor, and who are, therefore, 
always ready to execute their wishes. The planter, the far- 
mer, the mechanic, and the laborer, all know that their success 
depends upon their own industry and economy, and that they 
must not expect to become suddenly rich by the fruits of their 
toil. Yet these classes of society form the great body of the 
people of the United States ; they are the bone and sinew of 
the country ; men who love liberty, and desire nothing but 
equal rights and equal laws, and who, moreover,^ hold the 
great mass of our national wealth, although it is distributed in 
moderate amounts among the millions of freemen who possess 
it. But with overwhelming numbers and wealth on their side, 
they are in constant danger of losing their fair influence in the 
Government, and with difficulty maintain their just rights 
against the incessant efforts daily made to encroach upon 
them. 

The mischief springs from the power which the moneyed 
interest derives from a paper currency, which they are able to 
control, from the multitude of corporations with exclusive 
privileges, which they have succeeded in obtaining in the dif- 
ferent States, and which are employed altogether for their ben- 



23S J^IFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

ent, and unless you become more vratchful in your Stales, and 
check this spirit of monopoly and thirst for exclusive privi- 
leges, you will, in the end, find that the most important pow- 
ers of government have been given or bartered away, and the 
control over our dearest interests have passed into the hands 
of these corporations. 

The paper money system, and its natural associates, monop- 
oly and exclusive privileges, have already struck their roots 
deep in the soil ; and it will require all your efforts to check 
its farther growth, and to eradicate the evil. The men who 
profit by the abuses, and desire to perpetuate them, will con- 
tinue to besiege the haUs of legislation in the General Govern- 
ment, as well as in the States, and will seek, by every arti- 
fice, to mislead and deceive the public servants. It is to your- 
selves that you must look for safety and the means of guard- 
ing and perpetuating your free institutions. In your hands is 
rightfully placed the sovereignty of the country, and to you 
every one placed in authority is ultimately responsible. It is 
always in your power to see that the wishes of the people 
are carried into faithful execution, and their will, when once 
made known, must sooner or later be obeyed. And while the- 
people remain, as I trust they ever will, uncorrupted and in- 
corruptible, and continue w^atchful and jealous of their rights, 
the Government is safe, and the cause of freedom will continue 
to triumph over all its enemies. But it will require steady 
and persevering exertions on your part to rid yourselves of the 
iniquities and mischiefs of the paper system, and to check the 
spirit of monopoly and other abuses, which have sprung up 
with it, and of which it is the main support. So many inte- 
rests are united to resist all reform on this subject that you 
must not hope the conflict will be a short one, nor success easy. 
My humble efforts have not been spared, during my adminis- 
tration of the Government, to restore the constitutional curren- 
cy of gold and silver ; and something, I trust, has been done 
toward the accomplishment of this most desirable object. But 
enough yet remains to require all your energy and perseve- 
rance. The power, however, is in your hands, and the reme- 
dy must and will be applied if you determine upon it. 



FAREWELL ADDRESS. 239' 

While I am thus endeavoring to press upon your attention 
the principles which I deem of vital importance to the domes- 
tic concerns of the country, I ought not to pass over without 
notice the important considerations which should govern your 
policy toward foreign powers. It is unquestionably our true 
interest to cultivate the most friendly understanding with eve- 
ry nation ; to avoid, by every honorable means, the calamities 
of war; and we shall best attain this object by frankness and 
sincerity in our foreign intercourse, by the prompt and faithful 
execution of treaties, and by justice and impartiality in our 
conduct to all. But no nation, however desirous of peace, 
can hope to escape' collisions with other powers ; and the 
soundest dictates of policy require that we should place our- 
selves in a condition to assert our rights, if a resort to force 
should ever become necessary. Our local situation, our long 
line of seacoast, indented by numerous bays, with deep rivers 
opening into the interior, as w^ell as our extended and still in- 
creasing commerce, point to the navy as our natural means of 
defense. It will, in the end, be found to be cheapest and most 
effectual ; and now is the time, in the season of peace, and 
with an overflowing revenue, that we can year after year add 
to its strength without increasing the burthens of the people. 
It is your true policy. For your navy will not only protect 
your rich antd flourishing commerce in distant seas, but enable 
you to reach and annoy the enemy, and will give to defense its 
greatest efficiency by meeting danger at a distance from home. 
It is impossible by any line of fortifications to guard every 
point from attack against a hostile force advancing from the 
ocean and selecting its object; but they are indispenable to 
protect cities from bombardment ; dock-yards and navy arse- 
nals from destruction ; to give shelter to merchant vessels in 
time of war, and to single ships or weaker squadrons when 
pressed by superior force. Fortifications of this description 
cannot be too soon completed and armed, and placed in a con- 
dition of the most perfect preparation. The abundant means 
we now possess cannot be applied in any manner more useful 
to the country; and when this is done, and our naval force 
sufficiently strengthened, and our military armed, we need not 



240 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

fear that any nation will wantonly insult us, or needlessly 
provoke hostilities. We shall most certainly preserve peace, 
when it is well understood that we are prepared for war. 

In presenting to you, my fellow-citizens, these parting coun- 
sels, I have brought before you the leading principles upon 
which I endeavored to administer the government in the high 
office with which you twice honored me. Knowing that the 
path of freedom is continually beset by enemies, who often 
assume the disguise of friends, I have devoted the last hours 
of my public life to warn you of the dangers. The progress 
of the United States, under our free and happy institutions, 
has surpassed the most sanguine hopes of the founders of the 
Republic. Our growth has been rapid beyond all former ex- 
ample, in numbers, in wealth, in knowledge, and all the use- 
ful arts which contribute to the comforts and convenience of 
man ; and from the earliest ages of history to the present day, 
there never have been thirteen millions of people associated 
together in one political body, who enjoyed so much freedom 
and happiness as the people of these United States. You 
have no longer any cause to fear danger from abroad ; your 
strength -and power are well known throughout the civilized 
world, as w^ell as the high and gallant bearing of your sons. 
It is from within, among yourselves, from cupidity, from cor- 
ruption, from disappointed ambition, and inordinate thirst for 
power, that factions will be formed and liberty endangered. 
It is against such designs, whatever disguise the actors may 
assume, that you have especially to guard yourselves. You 
have the highest of human trusts committed to your care. 
Providence has showered on this favored land blessings with- 
out number, and has chosen you as the guardians of freedom, 
to preserve it for the benefit of the human race. IMay He, 
who holds in his hands the destinies of nations, make you 
worthy of the favors he has bestowed, and enable you, with 
pure hearts, and pure hands, and sleepless vigilance, to guard 
and defend to the end of time the great charge he has commit- 
ted to your keeping. 

My own race is nearly run ; advanced age and failing health 
warn me that before long I must pass beyond the reach of hu- 



DECLINING A SARCOPHAGUS. 241 

■nian events, and cease to feel the vicissitudes of human affairs. 
I thank God that my life has been spent in a land of liberty, 
and that he has given me a heart to love my country ^^•ith the 
affection of a son. And filled with gratitude for your constant 
and unwavering kindness, I bid you a last and affectionate 
farewell. 

ANDREW JACKSON. 



GENERAL JACKt«ON'S LETTER TO COMMODORE ELLIOTT, 
DECLINING A SARCOPHAGUS. 

Hermitage, IMarch 27, 1845. 

Dear Sir : Your letter of the ISth instant, together with a 
^opy of the proceedings of the National Institute, furnished 
me by their corresponding secretary, on the presentation, by you, 
of the Sarcophagus for their acceptance, on condition it shall 
be preserved, and in honor of my memory, have been received, 
and are now before me. 

Although laboring under great debility and affliction, from a 
severe attack from which I may not recover, I raise my pen 
and endeavor to reply. The steadiness of my nerves may 
perhaps lead you to conclude my prostration of strength is not 
so great as here expressed. Strange as it may appear, my 
nerves are as steady as they were forty years gone by ; whilst, 
from debility and affliction, I am gasping for breath. 

I have read the whole proceedings of the presentation, by 
you, of the Sarcophagus, and the resolutions passed by the 
Board of Directors, so honorable to my fame, with sensations 
and feelings more easily to be conjectured, than by me ex- 
pressed. The whole proceedings call for my most grateful 
thanks, which are hereby tendered to you, and through you to 
the President and Directors of the National Institute. But 
with the warmest sensations that can inspire a grateful heart, I 
must decline accepting the honor intended to be bestowed. I 
cannot consent that my mortal body shall be laid in a repository 
prepared for an emperor or a king. JMy republican feelings and 
principles forbid it ; the simplicity of our system of govern- 
16 



212 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

ment forDids it. Every monument erected to perpetuate the 
memory of our heroes and statesmen ought to bear evidence 
of the economy and simplicity of our republican institutions, 
and the plainness of our republican citizens, who are the sov- 
ereigns of our glorious Union, and whose virtue is to perpet- 
uate it. True virtue cannot exist where pomp and parade are 
the governing passions ; it can only dwell with the people — 
the great laboring and producing classes that form the bone 
and sinew of our confederacy. 

For these reasons I cannot accept the honor you and the 
President and Directors of the National Institute intended to 
bestow. I cannot permit my rem.ains to be the first in these 
United States to be deposited in a sarcophagus made for an 
emperor or king. I again repeat, please accept for yourself, 
and convey to the President and Directors of the National In- 
stitute, my most profound respects for the honor you and they 
intended to bestow. I have prepared a humble depository for 

/my mortal body beside that wherein lies my beloved wife, 
where, v.^ithout any pomp or parade, I have requested, when my 

\God calls me to sleep with my fathers, to be laid ; for both of 
us there to remain until the last trumpet sounds to call the 
dead to judgm.ent, v.^hen we, I hope, shall rise together, cloth- 
ed with that heavenly body promised to all who believe in 
cur glorious Redeemer, who died for us that we might live, 
and by whose atonement I hope for a blessed immortality. 
I am, with great respect, 

your friend and fellov.^-citizen, 

ANDREW JACKSON. 
To Commodore J. D. Elliott, United States Navy. 



CHAPTER VIII 



REMARKS OF HON. DANIEL WEBSTER, AT THE MEETING OF 

.THE NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY, ON THE 

DEATH OF GENERAL JACKSON. 

''Nothing could be more natural or proper tlian that this 
Society should take a respectful notice of the decease of so 
distinguished a member of its body. Accustomed occasional- 
ly to meet the Society, and to enjoy the communications that 
are made to it, and proceed from it, illustrative of the history 
of the country and its government, I have pleasure in being 
present at this time also, and on this occasion, in which an ele- 
ment so mournful mingles itself. Gen. Andrew Jackson has 
been from an early period conspicuous in the service and in- 
the councils of the country, though not without long intervals, 
so far as respects his connection w^th the General Government. 
It is fifty years, I think, since he was a member of the Con- 
gress of the United States, and at the instant, sir, I do not 
know whether there be living an associate of General Jackson 
in the House of Representatives of the United States at that 
day, with the exception of the distinguished and venerable 
gentleman who is now President of this Society. I recollect 
only of the Congress of '96, at this moment now living, but 
one — Mr. Gallatin — though I may be mistaken. Gen. Jack- 
son, Mr. President, while he lived, and his memory and char- 
acter, now that he is deceased, are presented to his country 
and the world in different views and relations. He w^as a sol- 
dier — a general officer — and acted no unimportant part in that 
capacity. He was raised by repeated elections to the highest 
stations in the civil government of his country, and acted a 
part certainly not obscure or unimportant in that character and 
capacity. 

In regard to his military services, I participate in the gene- 



244 WEBSTER'S EULOGY. 

ral sentiment of the whole country, and I believe of the world. 
That he was a soldier of dauntless courage — great daring and 
perseverance — an officer of skill and arrangement and foresight, 
are truths universally admitted. During the period in which 
he administered the General Government of the country, it was 
my fortune, during the whole period of it, to be a member of 
the Congress of the United States, and as it is well known, it was 
my misfortune not to be able to concur with many of the most 
important measures of his administration. Entertaining him- 
self, his own views, and with a power of impressing his own 
views to a remarkable degree, upon the conviction and appro- 
bation of others, he pursued such a course as he thought ex- 
pedient in the circumstances in which he was placed. Enter- 
taining on many questions of great importance, difTerent opin- 
ions, it was of course my misfortune to differ from him, and 
that difference gave me great pain, because, in the whole 
course of my public life, it has been far more agreeable to me 
to support the measures of the Government than be called up- 
on by my judgment and sense of what is to be done to oppose 
them. I desire to see the Government acting with an unity of 
spirit in all things relating to its foreign relations, especially, 
and generally in all great measures of domestic policy, as far 
as is consistent with the exercise of perfect independence 
among its members. But if it was my misfortune to differ 
from General Jackson on many, or most of the great measures 
of his administration, there were occasions, and those not un- 
important, in which I felt it my duty, and according to the 
highest sense of that duty, to conform to his opinions, and 
support his measures. There were junctures in his adminis- 
tration — periods which I thought important and critical — in 
which the views he thought proper to adopt, corresponded en- 
tirely with my sentiments in regard to the protection of the 
best interests of the country, and the institutions under which 
we live; and it was my humble endeavor on these occasions 
to yield to his opinions and measures, the same cordial support 
as if I had not differed from him before, and expected never to 
differ from him again. 

That General Jackson was a marked character — that he had 
a very remarkable influence over other men's opinions — that 



WEBSTER'S EULOGY. 245 

he had great perseverance and resolution in civil as well as in 
military administration, all admit. Nor do I think that the 
candid among mankind will ever doubt that it was his desire — 
mingled with whatsoever portion of a disposition to be him- 
self instrumental in that exaltation — to elevate his country to 
the highest prosperity and honor. There is one sentiment, to 
which I particularly recur, always with a feeling of approba- 
tion and gratitude. From an earlier period of his undertaking 
to administer the affairs of the government, he uttered a senti- 
ment dear to me — expressive of a truth of which I am most 
profoundly convinced — a sentiment setting forth the necessity, 
the duty, and the patriotism of maintaining the union of these 
States. Mr. President, I am old enough to recollect the deaths 
of all the Presidents of the United States who have departed 
this hfe, from Washington down. There is no doubt that the 
death of an individual, who has been so much the favorite of 
his country, and partaken so largely of its regard as to fill that 
high office, always produces — has produced, hitherto, a strong 
impression upon the public mind. That is right. It is right 
that such should be the impression upon the whole communi- 
ty, embracing those who particularly approved, and those vv^ho 
did not particularly approve the political course of the de- 
ceased. 

All these distinguished men have been chosen of their coun- 
try. They have fulfilled their station and duties upon the 
whole, in the series of years that have gone before us, in a 
manner reputable and distinguished. Under their administra- 
tion, in the course of fifty or sixty years, the government, 
generally speaking, has prospered, and under the government, 
the people have prospered. It becomes, then, all to pay respect 
when men thus honored are called to another world. Mr. 
President, we may well indulge the hope and belief, that it 
was the feeling of the distinguished person who is the subject 
of these resolutions, in the solemn days and hours of closing 
life — that it was his wish, if he had committed few or more 
errors in the administration of the government, their influence 
might cease with him ; and that whatever of good he had done, 
might be perpetuated. Let us cherish the same sentiment. 
Let us act upon the same feeling; and whatever of true honor 



246 REVERDY JOHNSON'S EULOGY. 

and glory lie acquired, let us all hope that it will be his in- 
heritance forever ! And whatever of good example, or good 
principle, or good administration, he has established, let us 
hope that the benefit of it may also be perpetual." 



REMARKS OF HON. REVERDY JOHNSON, OF MARYLAND. WHIG 

SENATOR IN CONGRESS, BEFORE THE MARY'LAND COURT 

OF APPEALS, IN ANNOUNCING THE DEATH OF 

GENERAL JACKSON. 

May" it please the Court — I rise to announce to the Court 
the death of a great American, and to ask, in behalf of my 
brethren of the bar, as a respect justly due to his memory, 
that the Court at once adjourn. 

Andrew Jackson is no more. A long and trying illness is 
at last terminated, and his spirit has winged its flight, I trust, 
to heaven. The life and character of the deceased have for 
many years filled a large space in the public eye ; and perhaps 
no man has ever lived amongst us, whose popularity or influ- 
ence with the American people was deeper seated, or more 
commanding. 

I need not inform the Court, that the administration of the 
General Government by this eminent citizen, during his Presi- 
dency, in almost every particular of it, except his noble stand 
against the perilous and unconstitutional doctrine of nullifica- 
tion, did not receive the approval of a large political party of 
the country ; but as a member of that party, I never doubted 
that he was in heart and soul a patriot, deeply attached to the 
free institutions under which we live, and ardently solicitous 
for the honor and prosperity of the nation. 

It is a redeeming trait in the character of our people, and 
greatly diminishes the mischiefs of mere party spirit, that we 
instinctively, v.'hen the nation is called upon to vindicate its 
honor, are found, to a man, united; and that on the death of 
a great and patriotic citizen, we are alike found, without re- 
gard to party, joining in a national lamentation at the afflictive 
event. 



BANCROFT'S EULOGY. 247 

In this instance, there were in the eventful life of the de- 
ceased, deeds of service rendered the country, by Avhich we 
all feel that the national glory was eminently subserved. 

His military course seemed to know no disaster. With 
him, to go to battle was to go to victory. Whether warring 
at the head of American troops, with the cunning and daring 
of savage valor, or with the bravery and skill of the best dis- 
ciplined army of the European world, the result was ever the 
same — a triumph. The crowning glory of his military life, 
the Battle of New-Orleans, whilst it immeasurably increases 
the fame of our arms, will, in all future time, serve as a bea- 
con to protect our soil from hostile tread. 

In honor of such a man, it is fit that, in ever}' portion of 
this great nation, due respect should be shown to his mem.ory ; 
and I therefore move the Court to gratify the feelings of the 
bar, as I am sure they will their own, by adjourning for the 
day. 



EULOGY ON ANDREW .JACKSON. AT HIS FUNERAL SOLEMNI- 
TIES AT WASHINGTON, BY HON. GEORGE BANCROFT, 
SECRETARY OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY. 

The men of the American Revolution are no more. That 
age of creative power has passed away. The last surviving 
signer of the Declaration of Independence has long since left 
the earth. Washington lies near his own Potomac, surrounded 
by his family and servants. Adams, the colossus of inde- 
pendence, reposes in the modest grave-yard of his native re- 
gion. Jefferson sleeps on the heights of his own Monticello, 
whence his eye overlooked his beloved Virginia. IMadison, 
the last survivor of the men who made our Constitution, lives 
only in our hearts. But who shall say that the heroes, in 
whom the image of God shone most brightly, do not live for 
ever.' They were filled with the vast conceptions which 
called America into being ; they lived for those conceptions ; 
and their deeds praise them. 



248 BANCr.OFT'S EULOGY. 

We are met to commemorate the virtues of one who shed 
his blood for our independence, took part in winning the ter- 
ritory and forming the early institutions of the West, and was 
imbued with all the great ideas which constitute the moral 
force of our country. On the spot where he gave his solemn 
fealty to the people — here, where he pledged himself before 
the world to Freedom, to the Constitution, and to the laws — 
we meet to pay our tribute to the memory of the last great 
name, which gathers round itself all the associations that form 
the glory of America. 

,• South Carolina gave a birth-place to Andrev/ Jacxson. 
On its remote frontier, far up on the forest-clad banks of the 
Catawba, in a region where the settlers were just beginning to 
cluster, his eye first saw the light. There his infancy sported 
in the ancient forests, and his mind was nursed to freedom by 
their influence. He was the 5'oungest son of an Irish emi- 
grant, of Scottish origin, who, two years after the great war 
of Frederic of Prussia, fled to America for relief from indi- 
gence and oppression. His birth was in 1767, at a time when 
the people of our land were but a body of dependent colonists, 
scarcely more than two millions in number, scattered along an 
immense coast, with no army or navy, or union ; and exposed 
to the attempts of England to control America by the aid of 
military force. His boyhood grew up in the midst of the con- 
test with Great Britain. The first great political truth that 
reached his heart, was that all men are free and equal ; the 
first great fact that beamed on his understanding, was his 
country's independence. 

The strife, as it increased, came near the shades of his own 
upland residence. As a boy of thirteen, he witnessed the 
scenes of horror that accompany civil war; and when but a year 
older, with an elder brother, he shouldered his musket, and 
went forth to strike a blow for his country. 

Joyous era for America and for humanity ! But for him, 
the orphan boy, the events were full of agony and grief. His 
father was no more. His oldest brother fell a victim to the 
war of the revolution ; another (his companion in arms) died 
of wounds received in their joint captivity ; his mother went 
down to the grave a victim to grief and efforts to rescue her 



BANCROFT'S EULOGY. 249 

sons; and when peace came, he was alone in the work], with 
no kindred to cherish him, and little inheritance but his own 
untried powers. 

The nation which emancipated itself from British rule or- 
ganizes itself: the Confederation gives way to the Constitu- 
tion : the perfecting of that Constitution — that grand event of 
the thousand years of modern history — is accomplished : Ame- 
rica exists as a people, gains unity as a government, and takes 
its place as a nation among the powers of the earth. 

The lovers of adventure began to pour themselves into the 
territory, whose delicious climate and fertile soil invited the 
presence of social man. The hunter with his rifle and his axe, 
attended by his wife and children ; the herdsman driving the 
few cattle that were to multiply as they browsed ; the culti- 
vator of the soil — all came to the inviting region. Wherever 
the bending mountains opened a pass — wherever the buffaloes 
and the beasts of the forest had made a trace, these sons of 
nature, children of humanit}^ in the highest sentiment of per- 
sonal freedom, came to occupy the beautiful wilderness whose 
prairies blossom.ed everywhere profusely with wild flowers — 
whose woods in spring put to shame, by their magnificence, 
the cultivated gardens of man. 

And now that these unlettered fugitives, educated only by 
the spirit of freedom, destitute of dead letter erudition, but 
sharing the living ideas of the age, had made their homes in 
the West — what would follow ? Would they degrade them- 
selves to ignorance and infidelity ? Would they make the sol- 
itudes of the desert excuses for licentiousness ? Would the 
doctrines of freedom lead them to live in unorganized society, 
destitute of laws and fixed institutions. 

At a time w^hen European society was becoming broken in 
pieces, scattered, disunited, and resolved into its elements, a 
scene ensued in Tennessee, than which nothing more beauti- 
fully grand is recorded in the annals of the race. 

These adventurers in the wilderness longed to come together 
in organized society. The overshadowing genius of their time 
inspired them with good designs, and filled them with the 
counsels of wisdom. Dwellers in the forest, freest of the- 
free, bound in the spirit, they came up by their representativeSj. 



250 BANCr.OFT's EULOGY. 

on foot, on horseback, through the forest, along the streams, 
by the buffalo traces, by the Indian paths, by the blazed forest 
avenues, to meet in convention among the mountains at Knox- 
ville, and frame for themselves a Constitution. Andrew Jack- 
son was there, the greatest man of them all — modest, bold, 
determined, demanding nothing for himself, and shrinking 
from nothing that his heart approved. 

The next great office to be performed by America, is the 
taking possession of the wilderness. The m.agnijicent West- 
tern valley cried out to the civilization of popular power, that 
it must be occupied by cultivated man. 

Behold, then, our orphan hero, sternly earnest, consecrated 
to humanity from childhood by sorrow, having neither father, 
nor mother, nor sister, nor surviving brother, so young, and 
yet so solitary, and therefore bound the more closely to col- 
lective man — behold him elect for his lot to go forth and assist 
in laying the foundations of society in the great valley of the 
Mississippi. 

At the time when Washington was pledging his own and fu- 
ture generations to the support of the popular institutions which 
were to be the light of the human race — at the time when the in- 
stitutions of the Old World were rocking to their centre, and the 
mighty fabric that had come down from the middle ages was 
falling in — the adventurous Jackson, in the radiant glory and 
boundless hope and confident intrepidity of twenty-one, plunged 
into the wilderness, crossed the great mountain-barrier that di- 
vides the western waters from the Atlantic, followed the paths 
of the early hunters and fugitives, and, not content with the 
nearer neighborhood to his parent State, went still further and 
further to the west, till he found his home in the most beauti- 
ful region on the Cumberland. There, from the first, he was 
recognized as the great pioneer: under his courage, the com- 
ing emigrants were sure to find a shield. 

The Convention came together on the 11th day of January, 
1796, and finished its work on the 6th day of February. How 
had the wisdom of the Old World vainly tasked itself to frame 
constitutions, that could, at least, be the subject of experi- 
ment ! The men of Tennessee, in less than twenty-five days, 
perfected a fabric, which, in its essential forms, was to last 



BANCROFT'S EULOGY. 251 

forever. They came together, full of faith and reverence, of 
love to humanity, of conlidence in truth. In the simplicity of 
wisdom, they framed their Constitution, acting under higher 
influences than they were conscious of — 

They wrought in sad sincerity, 
Themselves from God they could not free ; 
They builded better than Ihey knew — 
The conscious stones to beauty grew. 

In the instrument which they framed, they embodied their 
faith in God, and in the immortal nature of man. They gave 
the right of suffrage to every freeman ; they vindicated the 
sanctity of reason, by giving freedom of speech and of the 
press ; they reverenced the voice of God, as it speaks in the 
soul of man, by asserting the indefeasible right of man to wor- 
ship the Infinite according to his conscience ; they established 
the freedom and equality of elections; and they demanded 
from every future legislator a solemn oath '< never to consent 
to any act or thing whatever that shall have even a tendency 
to lesson the rights of the people." 

These majestic lawgivers, wiser than the Solons, and Ly- 
curguses, and Numas of the Old World — these prophetic foun- 
ders of a State, who embodied in their Constitution the sub- 
limest truths of humanity, acted without reference to human 
praises. 

They kept no special record of their doings; they took no 
pains to vaunt their deeds ; and when their work was done, 
knew not that they had finished one of the sublimest acts 
ever performed among men. They left no record, as to whose 
agency was conspicuous, whose eloquence swayed, whose 
generous will predominated: nor should we know, but for tra- 
dition, confirmed by what followed among themselves. 

The men of Tennessee were now a people, and they were 
to send forth a man to stand for them in the Congress of the Uni- 
ted States — that avenue to glory — that home of eloquence — 
the citadel of popular power ; and, with one consent, they uni- 
ted in selecting the foremost man among the lawgivers — 
Andrew Jackson. 

The love of the people of Tennessee followed him in the 
American Congress; and he had served but a single term, 



252 BANCROFT'S EULOGY. 

when the State oi Tennessee made him one of its Representa- 
tives in the American Senate, where he sat under the auspices 
of Jefferson. 

Thus, when he was scarcely more than thirty, he had gui- 
ded the settlement of the wilderness; swayed the deliberation 
of a people in establishing its fundamental laws ; acted as the 
representative of that people, and again as the representative 
of his organized State, disciplined to a knowledge of the pow- 
er of the people and the power of the States ; the associate of 
republican statesmen, the friend and companion of Jefferson. 

The men who framed the Constitution of the United States, 
many of them, did not know the innate life and self-preserving 
energy of the work. They feared that freedom could not en- 
dure, and planned a strong Government for its protection. 

During his short career in Congress, Jackson showed his 
quiet, deeply-seated, innate, intuitive faith in human freedom, 
and in the institutions of freedom. He was ever, by his votes 
and opinions, found among those who had confidence in hu- 
manity; and in the great division of minds, this child of the 
woodlands, this representative of forest life in the West, was 
found modestly and firmly on the side of freedom. It did not 
occur to him to doubt the right of man to the free development 
of his powers ; it did not occur to him to place a guardianship 
over the people ; it did not occur to him to seek to give dura- 
bility to popular institutions, by giving to Government a 
strength independent of popular will. 

From the first, he was attached to the fundamental doctrines 
of popular power, and of the policy that favors it; and though 
his reverence for Washington surpassed his^everence for any 
human being, he voted against the address from the House of 
Representatives to Washington, on his retirement, because its 
language appeared to sanction the financial policy which he 
believed hostile to republican freedom. 

During his period of service in the Senate, Jackson was 
elected major-general by the brigadiers and field officers of the 
militia of Tennessee. Resigning his place in the Senate, he 
was made Judge of the Supreme Court in law and equity ; 
such was the confidence in his integrity of purpose, his clear- 
ness of judgment, and his vigor of will to deal justly among 



BANCROFT'S EULOGY. 253 

the turbulent who crowded into the new settlements of Ten- 
nessee. 

Thus, in the short period of nine years, Andrew Jackson 
was signalized by as many evidences of public esteem as could 
fall to the lot of man. The pioneer of the wilderness, the de- 
fender of its stations, he was their lawgiver, the sole represen- 
tative of a new people in Congress, the representative of the 
State in the Senate, the highest in military command, the high- 
est in judicial office. He seemed to be recognized as the first 
in love of liberty, the first in the science of legislation, in 
judgment, and integrity. 

Fond of private life, he would have resigned the judicial 
office; but the whole country demanded his service. "Na- 
ture," they cried, " never designed that your powers of thought 
and independence of mind should be lost in retirement." But 
after a few years, relieving himself from the cares of the 
bench, he gave himself to the activity and the independent life 
of a husbandman. He carried into retirement the fame of 
natural intelligence, and was cherished as " a prompt, frank, 
and ardent soul." His vigor of character constituted him first 
among all with whom he associated. A private man as he 
w^as, his name was familiarly spoken round every hearth- 
stone in Tennessee. Men loved to discuss his qualities. All 
discerned his power ; and when the vehemence and impetu- 
osity of his nature were observed upon, there were not want- 
ing those who saw, beneath the blazing fires of his genius, 
the solidity of his judgment. 

His hospitable roof sheltered the emigrant and the pioneer; 
and as they made their way to their new homes, they filled the 
mountain sides and the valleys w^ith his praise. 

Connecting himself, for a season, with a man of business, 
Jackson soon discerned the misconduct of his associate. It 
marked his character, that he insisted, himself, on paying 
every obligation that had been contracted ; and rather than 
endure the vassalage of debt, he instantly parted with the rich 
domain which his early enterprise had acquired ; with his 
own mansion ; with the fields which he himself had first 
tamed to the ploughshare ; with the forest whose trees were 
as familiar to him as his friends ; and chose rather to dwell. 



254 BANCROFT'S EULOGY. 

for a time, in a mde log-cabin, in the pride of independence 
and integrity. 

On all great occasions, Jackson's influence was referred to. 
When Jefferson had acquired for the country the whole of 
Louisiana, and there seemed some hesitancy on the part of 
Spain to acknowledge our possession, the services of Jackson 
were solicited by the National Administration, and were not 
called into full exercise, only from the peaceful termination of 
the incidents that occasioned the summons. 

In the long series of aggressions on the freedom of the 
seas, and the rights of the American flag, Jackson was on the 
side of his country, and the new maratime code of republican- 
ism. In his inland home, where the roar of the breakers was 
never heard, and the mariner was never seen, he resented the 
continued aggression on our commerce and on our sailors. 

When the continuance of wrong compelled the nation to re- 
sort to arms, Jackson, led by the instinctive knowledge of his 
own greatness, yet with a modesty that would have honored 
the most sensitive delicacy of nature, confessed his willingness 
to be employed on the Canada frontier ; and it is a fact that 
he aspired to the command to which Winchester was appoint- 
ed. We may ask, what would have been the result, if the 
command of the northwestern army had, at the opening of 
the war, been entrusted to a man who, in action, was ever so 
fortunate that his vehement will seemed to have made destiny 
capitulate to his designs .' 

The path of duty led him in another direction. On the dec- 
laration of war, twenty-five hundred volunteers had risen at 
his word to follow his standard ; but, by countermanding or- 
ders from the seat of government, the movement was with- 
out effect. 

A new and great danger hung over the West. The Indian 
tribes were to make one last eflbrt to restore it to its solitude, 
and recover it for savage life. The brave, relentless Shaw- 
nees — who, from time immemorial, had strolled from the 
waters of the Ohio to the rivers of Alabama — were animated 
by Tecumseh and his brother the Prophet, who spoke to them 
as with the voice of the Great Spirit, and roused the Creek 
nation to desperate massacres. Who has not heard of their 



BANCROFT'S EULOGY. 255 

terrible deeds, when their ruthless cruelt}^ spared neither sex 
nor age ? when the infant and its mother, the planter and his 
family, who had fled for refuge to the fortress, the garrison 
that capitulated — all were slain, and not a vestige of defense 
was left in the country ? The cry of the West demanded Jack- 
son for its defender ; and though his arm was then fractured 
by a ball, and hung in a sling, he placed himself at the head 
of the volunteers of Tennessee, and resolved to terminate for- 
ever the hereditary struggle. 

Who can tell the horrors of that campaign .' Who can paint 
rightly the obstacles Avhich Jackson overcame— mountains, the 
scarcity of untenanted forests, winter, the failure of supplies 
from the settlements, the insubordination of troops, mutiny, 
menaces of desertion .' Who can measure the wonderful power 
over men, by which his personal prowess and attractive energy 
drew them in midwinter from their homes, across mountains 
and morasses, and through trackless deserts.' Who can des- 
cribe the personal heroism of Jackson, never sparing him.self, 
beyond any of his men, encountering toil and fatigue, sharing 
every labor of the camp and of the march, foremost in every 
danger ; giving up his horse to the invalid soldier, while he 
himself waded through the swamps on foot .' None equalled 
him in power of endurance ; and the private soldiers, as they 
found him passing them on the march, exclaimed, "he is as 
tough as the hickory." « Yes," they cried to one another, 
"there goes Old Hickory !" 

Who can narrate the terrible events of the double battles of 
Emucfaw, or the glorious victory of Tohopeka, where the anger 
of the general against the faltering, was more appalling than 
the war-whoop and the rifle of the savage ? Who can rightly 
conceive the field of Enotochopco, where the general, as he 
attempted to draw the sword to cut down a flying colonel who 
was leading a regiment from the field, broke again the arm 
which was but newly knit together; and, quietly replacing it 
in the sling, with his commanding voice arrested the flight of 
the troops, and himself led them back to victory .' 
./^n six short moiUks o;^- V'e h e meiT t' " actt on^-t-l: 
' Indian war in our qnnals. wa s brought to ax lo^a; t]ie-imD.nhets 
were silenced ; the consecrated re gion^o£^_the Creek nation re- 




256 BANCROFT'S EULOGY. 

duced. Througli s cenes of blood, the av ejuiiaff-liefo-saii^t 

only tlie-patli to ^eaca. Jjius Alab ama, a part of M ississippi, 

a part of his own T^iinessee, aiwMhe •}itg4t\vay^-e-4he~Elc^^ 
were his^ifts to tlie-Uiuaii.- — Thesp. werp his.tLQphks, 

iTus as extraordinary as military events can call fort! 
was summoned into action in this rapid, efficient, and most 
fortunately conducted war. 

Time would fail were I too track our hero down the water 
courses of Alabama to the neighborhood of Pensacola. How 
he longed to plant the eagle of his country on its embattle- 
ments ! 

Time would fail, and words be wanting, were I to dwell 
on the magical influence of his appearance in New-Orleans. 
His presence dissipated gloom and dispelled alarm ; at once he 
changed the aspect of despair into a confidence of security and 
a hope of acquiring glory. Every man knows the tale of the 
heroic, sudden, and yet deliberate daring which led him, on 
the night of the 23d of December, to precipitate his little army 
on his foes, in the thick darkness, before they grew familiar 
with their encampment, scattering dismay througli veteran 
regiments of England, and defeating them, and arresting their 
progress by a far inferior force. 

Who shall recount the counsels of prudence, the kindling 
words of eloquence, that gushed from his lips to cheer his 
soldiers, his skirmishes and battles, till that eventful morning 
when the day at Bunker's Hill had its fulfillment in the glori- 
ous battle of New-Orleans, and American Independence stood 
before the world in the majesty of victorious power. 

These were great deeds for the nation : for himself he did 
a greater. Had not Jackson been renowned for the vehement 
impetuosity of his passions, for his defiance of another's au- 
thority, and the unbending vigor of his self-wall ? Behold the 
savior of Louisiana, all garlanded with victory, viewing around 
him the city he had preserved, the maidens and children whom 
his heroism had protected, stand in the presence of a petty 
judge, Vvdio gratifies his wounded vanity by an abuse of his 
judicial power. Every breast in the crowded audience heaves 
with indignation. He, the passionate, the impetuous — he 
whose power was to be humbled, whose honor questioned. 



BANCKOFT'S EULOGY. 257 

whose laurels tarnished, alone stood sublimely serene; and 
when the craven judge trembled, and faltered, and dared not 
proceed, himself, the arrraigned one, bade him take courage, 
and stood by the law even in the moment when the law was 
made the instrument of insult and wrong on himself — at the 
moment of his most perfect claim to the highest civic honors. 

His country, when it grew to hold many more millions, the 
generation that then was coming in, has risen up to do hom- 
age to the noble heroism of that hour. Woman, whose feel- 
ing is always right, did honor from the first, to the purity of 
his heroism. The people of Louisiana, to the latest hour, will 
cherish his name as their greatest benefactor. 

The culture of Jackson's mind had been much promoted by 
his services and associations in the war. His discipline of 
himself, as the chief in command, his intimate relations with 
men like Livingston, the wonderful deeds in which he bore a 
part, all matured his judgment and mellowed his character. 

Peace came with its delights ; once more the country rush- 
ed forward in the development of its powers ; once more the 
arts of industry healed the wounds that war had inflicted, and 
from commerce, and agriculture, and manufactures, wealth 
gushed abundantly under the free activity of unrestrained en- 
terprise. 

And Jackson returned to his own fields, and his own pur- 
suits, to cherish his plantation, to care for his servants, to 
look after his stud, and to enjoy the affection of his most kind 
and devoted wife, whom he respected with the gentlest defer- 
ence, and loved with an almost miraculous tenderness. 

And there he stood, like one of the mightiest forest trees 
of his own west, vigorous and colossal, sending its summit to 
the skies, and growing on its native soil in wild and inimita- 
ble magnificence, careless of beholders. From all parts of the 
country, he received appeals to his political ambition, but the 
severe modesty of his well-balanced mind turned them all 
aside. He was happy in his farm, happy in seclusion, happy 
in his family, happy within himself. 

But the passions of the southern Indians were not allayed 
by the peace with Great Britain ; and foreign emissaries were 
still among them, to inflame and direct their malignity. Jack- 
16 



258 BANCROFT'S EULOGY. 

son was called forth by his country, to restrain the cruelty of 
the treacherous and unsparing Seminoles. It was in the train 
of the events of this war, that he placed the American eagle 
on St. Mark's and above the ancient towers of St. Augustine. 
His deeds in that war, of themselves, form a monument to 
human power, to the celerity of his genius, to the creative 
fertility of his resources, and his intuitive sagacity. As Spain, 
in his judgment, had committed aggression, he would have 
emancipated her islands ; of the Havanna, he caused the re- 
connoissance to be made ; and with an army of five thousand 
men, he stood ready to guaranty her redemption from colonial 
thraldom. 

But when peace was restored, and his office was accom- 
plished, his physical strength sunk under the pestilential in- 
fluence of the climate, and fast yielding to disease, he was 
borne in a litter across the swamps of Florida, towards his 
home. It was Jackson's character that he never solicited aid 
from any one ; but he never forgot those who rendered him 
service in the hour of need. At a time when all around him 
believed him near his end, his wife hastened to his side, and 
by her tenderness and nursing care, her patient assiduity, and 
the soothing influence of devoted love, withheld him from the 
grave. 

He would have remained quietly at his home, in repose, but 
he was privately informed that his good name was to be at- 
tainted by some intended congressional proceedings ; he came 
therefore, into the presence of the people's representatives, at 
Washington, only to vindicate his name ; and when that was 
achieved, he was once more communing with his own thoughts, 
among the groves of the Hermitage. 

It was not his own ambition which brought him again to 
the public view. The affection of Tennessee compelled him 
to resume a seat on the floor of the American Senate, and, af- 
ter years of the intensest political strife, Andrew Jackson was 
elected President of the United States. 

Far from advancing his own pretensions, he always kept 
them back, and had for years repressed the solicitations of his 
friends to become a candidate. He felt sensibly that he was 
devoid of scientific culture, and little familiar with letters; 



Bancroft's eulogy. 259 

and he never obtruded his opinions, or preferred claims to place. 
But, whenever his opinion was demanded, he was always 
ready to pronounce it ; and whenever his country invoked his 
services, he did not shrink even from the station which had 
been filled by the most cultivated men our nation had pro- 
duced. 

Behold, then, the unlettered man of the West, the nursling 
of the w^lds, the farmer of the Hermitage, little versed in 
books, unconnected by science with the tradition of the past, 
raised by the will of the people to the highest pinnacle of 
honor, to the central post in the civilization of republican free- 
dom, to the station where all the nations of the earth would 
watch his actions — where his w^ords would vibrate through 
the civilized w^orld, and his spirit be the moving star to guide 
the nations. What policy will he pursue ? What wisdom 
will_^he bring wnth him from the forest .' What rules of duty 
will he evolve from the oracles of his own mind ? -^ 

The man of the West came as the inspired prophet of the | 
West: he came as one free from the bonds of hereditary or 
established custom ; he came with no superior but conscience, 
nor oracle but his native judgment ; and, true to his origin and 
his education — true to the conditions and circumstances of his 
advancement, he valued right more than usage ; he reverted 
from the pressure of established interests to the energy of first 
principles. — ^ 

We tread on ashes, where the fire is not extinguished ; yet 
not to dwell on his career as President, were to leave out of 
view the grandest illustrations of his magnanimity. 

The legislation of the United States had followed the pre- 
cedents of European monarchies ; it was the office of Jackson 
to lift the country out of the European forms of legislation, 
and to open to it a career resting on American sentiment and 
American freedom. He would have freedom every where — 
freedom under the restraints of right; freedom of industry, 
of commerce, of mind, of universal action ; freedom, un- 
shackled by restrictive privileges, unrestrained by the thral- 
dom of monopolies. 

The unity of his mind and his consistency were without a 
parallel. With natural dialectics, he developed the political 



260 BANCROFT'S EULOGY. 

doctrines that suited every emergency, with a precision and a 
harmony that no theorist could hope to equal. On every sub- 
ject in politics — I speak but a fact — he was thoroughly, and 
profoundly, and immovably radical ; and would sit for hours, 
and in a continued flow of remark, make the application of 
his principles to every question that could arise in legislation, 
or in the interpretation of the Constitution. 

His expression of himself was so clear, that his influence 
pervaded not our land only, but all America and all mankind. 
They say ihat, in the physical world, the magnetic fluid is so 
diffused, that its vibrations are discernable simultaneously in 
every part of the globe. So it is with the element of freedom. 
And as Jackson developed its doctrines from their source in 
the mind of humanity, the popular sympathy M'as moved and 
agitated throughout the world, till his name grew every where 
to be the symbol of popular power. 

Him.self the witness of the ruthlessness of savage life, he 
planned the removal of the Indian tribes beyond the limits of 
the organized States ; and it is the result of his determined 
policy that the region east of the Mississippi has been transfer- 
red to the exclusive possession of cultivated man. 

A pupil of the wilderness, his heart was with the pion- 
■eers of American life tovv'ards the setting sun. No Ame- 
rican statesman has ever embraced within his affections a 
scheme so liberal for the emigrants as that of Jackson. He 
longed to secure to them, not pre-emption rights only, but 
more than pre-emption rights. He longed to invite labor to 
take possession of the unoccupied fields, without money and 
W'ithout price ; with no obligation except the perpetual devo- 
tion of itself by allegiance to its country. Under the benefi- 
cent influence of his opinions, the sons of misfortune, the 
children of adventure, find their way to the uncultivated West. 
There, in some wilderness glade, or in the thick forest of the 
fertile plain, or where the prairies most sparkle with flowers, 
they, like the wild bee which sets them the example of indus- 
try, may choose their home, mark the extent of their posses- 
sions by driving stakes or blazing trees, shelter their log cabin 
with boughs and turf, and teach the virgin soil to yield itself 
to the plowshare. Theirs shall be the soil, theirs the beauti- 



bakcroft's eulogy. 261 

ful farms which they teach to be productive. Come, children 
of sorrow ! you on whom the Old World frowns; crowd fear- 
lessly to the forests; plant your homes in confidence, for the 
country watches over you ; your children grow around you as 
hostages, and the wilderness, at your bidding, surrenders its 
grandeur of useless luxuriance to the beauty and loveliness of 
culture. Yet beautiful and lovely as is this scene, it still by 
far falls short of the ideal which lived in the affections of 
Jackson. His heart was ever with the pioneer; his policy 
ever favored the diffusion of independent freeholds throughout 
the laboring classes of our land. 

It would be a sin against the occasion were I to omit to com- 
memorate the deep devotedness of Jackson to the cause and to 
the rights of labor. It was for the welfare of the laboring classes 
that he defied all the storms of political hostility. He longed to 
secure to labor the fruits of its own industry ; and he unceas- 
ingly opposed every system which tended to lessen their re- 
ward, or which exposed them to be defrauded of their dues. 
The laborers may bend over his grave with affectionate sor- 
row ; for never in the tide of tim.e did a statesman exist, more 
heartily resolved to protect them in their rights, and to ad- 
vance their happiness. For their benefit, he opposed partial 
legislation ; for their benefit, he resisted all artificial methods of 
controlling labor, and subjecting it to capital. It was for their 
benefit that he loved freedom, in all its forms — freedom of the 
individual in personal independence, freedom of the States 
as separate sovereignties. He never would listen to counsels 
which tended to the centralization of power. The true Ame- 
rican system presupposesthe diffusion of freedom — organized 
life in all the parts of the body politic, as there is organized 
life in every part of the human system. Jackson was deaf to 
every counsel which sought to subject general labor to a cen- 
tral wnll. His vindication of the just principles of the Consti- 
tution derived its sublimity from his deep conviction that this 
strict construction is required by the lasting welfare of the 
great laboring classes of the United States. 

To this end, Jackson revived the tribunical power of the 
veto, and exerted it against the decisive action of both branches 
of Congress ; against 'the votes, the wishes, the entreaties of 



262 BANCROFT'S EULOGY. 

personal and political friends. " Show me," was his reply to 
them. " show me an express clause in the Constitution author- 
izing Congress to take the business of State Legislatures out 
of their hands." " You will ruin us all," cried a firm partisan 
friend, " you will ruin 3'our party and your own prospects." 
" Providence," answered Jackson, " will take care of me ;" 
and he persevered. 

In proceeding to discharge the debt of tlie United States — a 
measure thoroughly American — Jackson followed the example 
of his predecessors ; but he followed it with the full conscious- 
ness that he was rescuing the country from tlie artificial sys- 
tem of finance which had prevailed throughout the world ; 
and with him it formed a part of a system by which American 
legislation was to separate itself more and more effectually 
from European precedents, and develope itself more and more 
according to the vital principles of our political existence. 

The discharge of the debt brought with it, of necessity, a 
great reduction of the public burdens, and brought, of necessity, 
into view, the question, how far America should follow, or 
how far she should rely on her own freedom and enterprize 
and power, defying the competition, and seeking the market, 
and receiving the products of the world. 

The mind of Jackson on this subject reasoned clearly, and 
without passion. In the abuses of the system of revenue by 
excessive imposts, he saw evils which the public mind would 
remedy; and, inclining with the whole might of his energetic 
nature to the side of revenue duties, he made his earnest but 
tranquil appeal to the judgment of the people. 

The portions of country that suffered most severely from a 
system of legislation, which, in its extreme character as it then 
existed, is now universally acknowledged to have been une- 
qual and unjust, were less tranquil ; and rallying on the doc- 
trines of freedom which made our Government a limited one, 
they saw in the oppressive acts an assumption of power which 
was nugatory, because it was exercised, as they held, without 
authority from the people. 

The contest that ensued was the most momentous in our an- 
nals. The greatest minds in America engaged in the discus- 
sion. Eloquence never achieved sublimer triumphs in the 



Bancroft's eulogy. 263 

American Senate than on those occasions. The country be- 
came deeply divided ; and the antagonist elements were array- 
ed against each other under forms of clashing authority, mena- 
cing civil war ; the freedom of the several States was invoked 
against the power of the United States; and under the organi- 
zation of a State in Convention, the reserved rights of the peo- 
ple were summoned to display their energy, and balance the 
authority and neutralize the legislation of the central govern- 
ment. The States were agitated with prolonged excitement ; 
the friends of freedom throughout the world looked on with 
divided sympathies, praying that the union of the States might 
be perpetual, and also that the commerce of the world might 
be free. 

Fortunately for the country, and fortunately for mankind, 
Andrew Jackson was at the helm of State, the representative 
of the principles that were to allay excitement, and to restore 
the hopes of peace and freedom By nature, by impulse, by 
education, by conviction, a friend to personal freedom — by ed- 
ucation, political sympathies, and the fixed habit of his mind, 
a friend to the rights of the States — unwilling that the liberty 
of the States should be trampled under foot — unwilling that 
the Constitution should lose its vigor or be impaired, he ral- 
lied for the Constitution ; and in its name he }>ublished to the 
world " The Union : it must be pheserved." The words 
were a spell to hush evil passion, and to remove oppression. 
Under his guiding influence, the favored interests which had 
struggled. to perpetuate unjust legislation, yielded to the voice 
of moderation and reform; and every mind that had for a mo- 
ment contemplated a rupture of the States, discarded it forever. 
The whole influence of the past was invoked in favor of the 
Constitution — from the council chambers of the fathers, v/ho 
moulded our institutions — from the hall where American Inde- 
pendence was declared, the clear, loud cry was uttered — "the 
Union : it must be preserved." From every battle-field of the 
revolution — from Lexington and Bunker Hill — from Saratoga 
and Yorktown — from the fields of Eutaw — from the canebrakes 
■that sheltered the men of Marion — the repeated, long-prolonged 
■echoes came up — "the Union: it must be preserved." From 
jevery valley in our land — from every cabin on the pleasant 



264 BANCROFT'S EULOGY. 

mountain sides— from the ships at our wharves — from the tent 
of the hunter in our westernmost prairies— from the living 
minds of the living millions of American freemen— from the 
thickly coming glories of futurity— the shout went up, like 
the sound of many wafers, " the Union: it must be preserved." 
The friends of the protective system, and they who had de- 
nounced the protective system— the statesmen of the North, 
that had w^ounded the Constitution in their ]ove of centralism 
—the statesmen of the South, whose minds had carried to it& 
extreme the theory of State rights— all conspired together ; all 
breathed prayers for the perpetuity of the Union. Under the 
prudent firmness of Jackson— under the mixture of justice and 
general regard for all interests, the greatest danger to our in- 
stitutions was turned aside, and mankind w^as encouraged to 
believe that our Union, like our freedom, was imperishable. 

The moral of the great events of those days is this : that the 
people can discern right, and will make their way to a know- 
ledge of right ; that the wiiole human mind, and therefore with 
it the mind of the nation, has a continuous, ever-improvin,g 
existence ; that the appeal from the unjust legislation of to-day 
must be made quietly, earnestly, perseveringly, to the more 
enlightened, collective reason of to-morrow ; that submission is 
due to the popular will, in the confidence that the people, when 
in error, will amend their doings; that in a popular govern- 
ment injustice is neither to be established by force, nor to be 
resisted by force; in a word, that the Union, which was con- 
stituted'by consent, must be preserved by love. 

It rarely falls to the happy lot of a statesman to receive 
such unanimous applause from the heart of a nation. Duty 
to the dead demands that, on this occasion, the course of 
measures should not pass unnoticed, in the progress of 
which his vigor of character most cleariy appeared, and his 
conflict with opposing parties most violent and protracted. 

From his home in Tennessee, Jackson came to the Presi- 
dency resolved to lift American legislation out of the forms 
of English legislation, and to place our laws on the currency 
m harmony with the principles of our government. He came 
to the Presidency of the United States resolved to deliver the 
Government from the Bank of the United States^and to restore 



BANCROFT'S EULOGY. 265 

the regulation of exchanges to the rightful depository of that 
power — the commerce of the country. He had designed to 
declare his views on this subject in his inaugural address, but 
was persuaded to relinquish that purpose, on the ground that 
it belonged rather to a legislative message. When the period 
for addressing Congress drew near, it was still urged that to 
attack the bank would forfeit his popularity, and secure his 
future defeat. " It is not," he answered, " it is not for myself 
that I care." It was urged that haste was unnecessary, as the 
bank had still six unexpended years of chartered existence. " I 
may die," he replied, " before another Congress comes together, 
and I could not rest quietly in my grave, if I failed to do what I 
hold so essential to the liberty of my country." And his first an- 
nual message announced to the country that the bank was 
neither constitutional nor expedient. In this he was in ad- 
vance of the friends about him, in advance of Congress, and in 
advance of his party. This is no time for the analysis of meas- 
sures or the discussion of questions of political economy ; on 
the present occasion, we have to contemplate the character of 
the man. 

Never, from the first moment of his administration to the 
last, was there a calm in the strife of parties on the subject of 
the currency ; and never, during the whole period, did he re- 
cede or falter. Always in advance of his party — always hav- 
ing near him friends who cowered before the hardihood of his 
courage — he himself, throughout all the contest, was unmoved 
from the first suggestion of the unconstitutionality of the bank 
to the moment when he himself, first of all, reasoning from 
the certain tendency of its policy with singular sagacity pre- 
dicted to unbelieving friends, the coming insolvency of the in- 
stitution. 

The storm throughout the country rose with unexampled 
vehemence ; his opponents were not satisfied with addressing 
the public, or Congress, or his cabinet ; they threw their whole 
force personally on him. From all parts men pressed around 
him, urging him, entreating him to bend. Congress was flexi- 
ble, many of his personal friends faltered ; the impetuous 
swelling wave rolled on, without one sufficient obstacle, till it 
reached his presence ; but, as it dashed in its highest fury at 



266 BANCROFT'S EULOGi'. 

his feet, broke before his firmness. The commanding majesty 
of his will appalled his opponents and revived his friends. 
He, himself, had a proud consciousness that his will was in- 
domitable. Standing over the rocks of the Rip Raps, and 
looking out upon the ocean, " Providence,"' said he to a friend, 
« Providence may change my determination ; but man no more 
can do it, than he can remoA'e these Rip Raps, wiiich have re- 
sisted the rolling ocean from the beginning of time." And 
though a panic vras spreading through the land, and the whole 
credit system, as it then existed, was crumbling to pieces, and 
crushing around him, he stood erect, like a massive column, 
which the heaps of falling ruins could not break, nor bend, 
nor sway from its fixed foundation. 

[At this point Mr. Bancroft turned to address the Mayor of 
the city of Washington ; but finding him not present, he pro- 
ceeded.] 

People of the District of Columbia : I should fail of a duty 
on tnis occasion, if I did not give utterance to your sentiment 
of gratitude which followed General Jackson into retirement. 
Dwelling amongst 3^ou, he desired your prosperity. This beau- 
tiful city is surrounded by heights the most attractive, watered 
by a river so magnificent, the home of the gentle and the cul- 
tivated, not less than the seat of political power — this city, 
whose site Washington had selected — was dear to his affec- 
tions ; and if he won your grateful attachment by adorning it 
with monuments of useful architecture, by establishing its 
credit, and relieving its burdens, he regretted only that he had 
not the opportunity to have connected himself still more inti- 
mately with your prosperity. 

As he prepared to take his final leave of the District, the 
masses of the population of this city, and the masses that had 
gathered from around, followed his carriage in crowds. All 
in silence stood near him to wish him adieu ; and as the cars 
started, and he displayed his gray hairs, as he lifted his hat 
in token of farewell, you stood around with heads uncovered, 
too full of emotion to speak, in solemn silence gazing on him 
as he departed, never more to be seen in your midst. 

Behold the warrior and statesman, his work well done, re- 
tired to the Hermitage, to hold converse with his forests, to 



BANCROFT'S EULOCtY. 267 

cultivate his farm, to gather around him hospitably his friends! 
Who was like him ? He was still the load-star of the Ameri- 
can people. His fervid thoughts, frankly uttered, still spread 
the flame of patriotism through the American breast ; his 
counsels were still listened to with reverence ; and almost 
alone among statesmen, he in his retirement was in harmony 
with every onward movement of his time. His prevailing 
influence assisted to sway a neighboring nation to desire to 
share our institutions ; his ear heard the footsteps of coming- 
minions that are to gladden our western shores ; and his eye 
discerned in the dim distance the whitening sails that are to 
enliven the waters of the Pacific with the social sounds of our 
successful comm.erce. 

Age had whitened his locks, and dimmed his eye, and spread 
around him the infirmities and venerable emblems of many 
years of toilsome service ; but his heart beat as warmly as in 
his youth, and his courage M'as as firm as it had ever been in 
the day of battle. But while his affections were still for his 
friends and his country, his thoughts M'ere already in a better 
world. That exalted mind, which in active life had ahvays 
had unity of perception and will, and which in action had 
never faltered from doubt, and which in counsel had always 
reverted to first principles and general laws, now gave itself 
up to communing w^ith the Infinite. He was a believer — from 
feeling, from experience, from conviction. Not a shadow of 
skepticism ever dimmed the lustre of his mind. Proud philo- 
sopher ! will you smile to know that Andrew Jackson perused 
reverently his Psalter and Prayer-book, and Bible .' Know- 
that Andrew Jackson had faith in the eternity of truth — in 
the imperishable power of popular freedom — in the destinies 
of humanity — in the virtues and capacity of the people — in his 
country's institutions — in the being and overruling Providence 
of a merciful and ever-living God. 

The last moment of his life on earth is at hand. It is the 
sabbath of the Lord: the brightness and beauty of summer 
clothe the fields around him ; nature is in her glory ; but the 
sublimest spectacle on that day on earth, was the victory of 
his unblenching spirit over death itself. 

When he first felt the hand of death upon him, " May my 



268 BANCROFT'S EULOGY. 

enemies," he cried, "find peace; may the liberties of my 
country endure for ever." When his exhausted system, under 
the excess of pain, sunk for a moment, from debility, " Do not 
weep," said he to his adopted daughter, " my sufferings are 
less than those of Christ upon the cross ; " for he too, as a 
disciple of the cross, could have devoted himself, in sorrovv-, 
for mankind. Feeling his end near, he would see all of his 
family once more ; and he spoke to them, one by one, in 
words of tenderness and affection. His two little grand chil- 
dren were absent at Sunday school. He asked for them ; and 
as they came, he prayed for them, and kissed them, and blessed 
them. His servants were then admitted; they gathered, some 
in his room, and some on the outside of the house, clinging 
to the windows, that they might gaze and hear. And that 
dying man, thus surrounded, in a gush of fervid eloquence, 
spoke with inspiration, of God, of the Redeemer, of salvation 
through the atonement, of immortality, of heaven. For he 
ever thought that pure and undefiled religion was the founda- 
tion of private happiness, and the bulwark of republican in- 
stitutions. Having spoken of immortality in perfect con- 
sciousness of his own approaching end, he bade them all fare- 
well. " Dear children," such were his final words, « dear 
children, servants and friends, I trust to meet you all in heaven, 
both Vviiite and black — all, both white and black." And hav- 
ing borne his testimony to immortality, be bowed his mighty 
head, and without a groan, the spirit of the greatest man of 
his age escaped to the bosom of his God. 

In life, his career had been like the blaze of sun in the 
fierceness of its noon-day glory ; his death was lovely as the 
mildest sunset of a summer's evening, when the sun goes 
down in tranquil beauty without a cloud. To the majestic 
energy of an indomitable will, he joined a heart capable of 
the purest and most devoted love, rich in the tenderest affec- 
tions. On the bloody battle-field of Tohopeca, he saved an 
infant that clung to the breast of its dying mother; in the 
stormiest moment of his Presidency, at the imminent moment 
of his decision, he paused in his way, to give counsel to a 
poor suppliant that had come up to him for succor. Of the 
strifes in which he was engaged in his earlier life, not one 



BANCROFT'S EULOGY. 269 

sprung from himself ; but in every case he became involved 
by standing forth as the champion of the weak, the poor, and 
the defenseless, to shelter the gentle against oppression, to pro- 
tect the emigrant against the avarice of the speculator. His 
generous soul revolted at the barbarous practice of duels, and 
by no man in the land have so many been prevented. 

The sorrows of those that were near to him went deeply 
into his soul; and at the anguish, of the wife whom he loved, 
the orphans whom he adopted, he would melt into tears, and 
weep and scb like a child. 

No man in private life so possessed the heart of all around 
him — no public man of this century ever returned to private 
life with such an abiding mastery over the affections of the 
people. No man with truer instinct received American ideas 
— no man expressed them so completely, or so boldly, or so 
sincerely. He was as sincere a man as ever lived. He was 
wholly, always, and altogether sincere and true. 

Up to the last, he dared do anything that it was right to do. 
He united personal courage and moral courage beyond any 
man of whom history keeps the record. Before the nation, 
before the world, before coming ages, he stands forth the re- 
representative, for his generation, of the American mind. And 
the secret of his greatness is this: By intuitive conception, he 
shared and possessed all the creative ideas of his country and 
his tim.e. He expressed them with dauntless intrepidity ; he 
enforced them with an immovable will ; he executed them with 
an electric power that attracted and swayed the American 
people. The nation, in his time, had not one great thought, 
of which he was not the boldest and clearest expositor. 

History does not describe the man that equalled him in firm- 
ness of nerve. Not danger, not an army, in battle array, not 
wounds, not wide spread clamor, not age, not the anguish of 
disease, could impair in the least degree the vigor of his stead- 
fast mind. The heroes of antiquity would have contemplated 
with awe the unmatched hardihood of his character : and Na- 
poleon, had he possessed his disinterested will, could never 
have been vanquished. Jackson was never vanquished. He 
was always fortunate. He conquered the wilderness; he 
conquered the savage : he conquered the bravest veterans 



270 BANCROFT'S EULOGY. 

trained in the battle fields of Europe ; he conquered everyi '^ 
where in statesmanship; and, when death came to get the mas- 
tery over him, he turned that last enemy aside as tranquilly as3^ 
he had done the feeblest of his adversaries, and escaped from 
earth in the triumphant consciousness of immortality. 

His body has its fit resting place in the great central valley of 
the Mississippi ; his spirit rests upon our whole territory ; it 
hovers over the vales of Oregon, and guards, in advance, the 
frontier of the Del Norte. The fires of party spirit are 
quenched at his grave. His faults and frailties have perished. 
Whatever of good he has done, lives, and will live forever. 



\ 



